Before the Beginning
by CaaliHawkPhoenix
Summary: Before the Flame Alchemist met the Elric Brothers, and when peace still dominated the continent, Roy Mustang happened into a woman who would change his life as quickly as the wind spun tornados from a sunny day. Mustang X OC
1. Chapter 1 How They Met

Officer Roy Mustang walked down a paved path in a public park. He was clad in civilian clothes, but the chain of his state alchemist pocket watch was visible swaying as he continued walking. Enjoying the day so much, he didn't notice when the thin watch wriggled free of his pocket and fell to the ground for the chains ring had unclasped from his belt loop as well.

A young woman, who happened to be nearby and had observed it fall softly into the grass, unnoticed by its owner, stopped to pick it up.

The wind took up curiously and the young officer looked back for a reason he couldn't explain. Perhaps it was because he had thought the breeze had whispered his name, forcing him to turn unconsciously to gaze upon the woman holding his alchemist watch.

What he had seen made him stop on the spot.

She was tall, slender, but muscular, with shoulder length chocolate russet hair that revealed natural blonde highlights in the high suns glare reaching down through the trees, sunglasses masked her eyes, and she was clad in a short deep green tank top, sandy brown pants with a green fabric attached (he felt there would be some mark of hers on the back of it), black high topped boots that were sand coated and a black one strap-over the shoulder backpack was in its place. He wondered if she lived in one of the desert areas, judging by her deeply tanned skin.

Recovering quickly from her affect on him, he cleared his throat and walked over to her. Discreetly checking to make sure that it was indeed his watch that she held in her hand. And in fact, he had dropped it and hadn't noticed.

"Excuse me; miss, would that happen to be yours?" He asked with the entire curtsy that would be expected of an officer of the military.

"No, it isn't mine. You dropped it as you walked by. I picked it up to return it to you. I have no need of such an item."

"I take it you're not an alchemist then?" Roy asked, taking back the offered item.

"No, I am. I just refuse to be leashed."

He closed his eyes and smirked at the remark. Though still an insult and the truth, which he had heard many times, this was a different way of putting it. She had said SHE did not wish to be leashed. Not that HE was a dog of the military as it was more commonly verbalized. All soldiers were nothing more than that.

After a moment, he looked back up. Studying her face, he barely noticed her shades. It was as if they were so much a part of her, as much as her hair or hands. It was now, when he was closer, that he noticed she had armbands around her wrists. When she put her hands in her pockets, he also noticed two alike alchemic circles sewed into them, one on each. The circles were underneath the band, opposite of the "wrist-watch" method. A few of her fingers and a set of knuckles also supported white tape. 'Was she in a fight?'

Watching as his eyes flicked over her person, taking in everything, she thought, 'Can he tell where I came from?'

She decided to take him in as well.

His apparel was very common, a white button down with a black pin striped blazer that reached down longer than usual and black pants and shoes. His shoes were highly polished, as all soldiers' shoes should be. She noticed a piece of white fabric that could have been gloves peeking out of his right jacket pocket; other than that, really, common. It was his face she couldn't divert her eyes from. He was handsome, do doubt. Nice, angular, but not too pointy or round, just… defined. His short, ebony black hair fell to the middle of his forehead, but it was his eyes that captured her attention. They were a dark charcoal grey, his pupil barely discernable, yet she didn't mind. She loved the way his eyes looked her over so attentively… she just was amazed at how completely… breathtaking he was, period.

They thought simultaneously, 'I wonder if this is what they call "love at first sight"?'

"Um…" They both started a slight blush on their cheeks from their thoughts.

Laughing nervously together, Roy generously insisted that she go first.

"I… totally forgot what I was going to say, how about you?" She said clumsily, feeling like a complete idiot.

"Yeah, me too." He smiled and they grinned together, both feeling just as stupid, but better because they were being dim-witted together.

"Well, I'm on my way back to Central Headquarters… would you like to, you know, get together again for a while, when we have more time?" Roy Mustang offered, for the first time, he wasn't nervous about asking a girl out.

"Sure. Anytime is good with me."

"Great! … I mean, cool. I'm available…."

She giggled at his burst of energy, but cut him off, "When does your shift end tonight?"

"Late."

"That's not what I asked. When?" She insisted again.

"Eleven."

"I'll meet you at the front gate, or would you rather it be somewhere else?" She asked again.

"No, no, the front gate is fine, but, whom am I to meet?" His smile reached his near black eyes, making her blush slightly at her forgetfulness.

"Rumor. And who am I meeting?"

He smiled at her name; it was odd, but cute. "Second Lieutenant Roy Mustang."

"Alright Second Lieutenant, Eleven O' Clock, front gate of the Central Headquarters; don't be late." Smiling cleverly, she turned to leave, the wind going with her.

He stood there, staring after her black backpack and watched as the fabric attached to her pants blew out to the side of her and played tag with the back of her legs. He caught a glimpse of the symbols embroidered on the back of it.

It almost looked like a broken hourglass. There was a triangle on top, and one on the bottom, turned opposite. The top had a line with a spiral out to the left side in the bottom quarter, and the bottom had a line through it with a spiral to the right, in the top quarter. He smiled to himself. 'The alchemy symbols for air over earth….'

…

For Roy, eleven o' clock couldn't have come any slower. His best friend, Maes Hughes, caught him glancing at the clock again.

3:25 p.m.

"Mustang? HELLLOOOO!" He called at him from the other desk in the room.

"Huh? What?" Roy answered absently.

"I don't know. What's been up with you? I haven't seen you this impatient to get out of the office so bad in ages! What are you chomping at the bit for?"

Debating weather or not he should tell his friend about his fate-filled afternoon, he decides to go ahead; he was probably going to find out eventually.

"Well, you see, I'm meeting this girl…."

"Big surprise there."

"Do you mind?"

"Not really, but go on anyway." Hughes encourages, smiling with satisfaction.

Mustang twitched in agitation, but obliged, "This girl is… different. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but she is more unusual than anyone I have ever met. I was walking through the park for a little fresh air and my pocket watch fell into the grass. I didn't hear it or feel it. But then the wind picked up and for some reason I turn around, and there she is holding the watch, just standing there and looking my way. I check my pocket and sure enough, my watch is gone. I walk back over to her and we kind of stand there, talking a little, but mostly we just kind of watch each other. You know, sizing one another up."

"You mean you were checking her out." Hughes said. He didn't ask.

"No."

"Yes, you were."

"No, I wasn't."

"Uh-huh, what ever you say. Was she hot?" Hughes asked, a typical guy question, but he said it really innocent and calmly, and Mustang entered the trap unconsciously.

"Yes, she i—"

"HA!" Hughes explodes, cutting him off. "You WERE checking her out! Ha ha ha!" He laughed triumphantly at his victory.

Blushing faintly, Roy looked away. "I was not; all I'm saying is that she was attractive…." But his defense was drowned out by the roar of his friend's glee.

Sighing heavily from beneath his navy blue uniform, he glanced at the clock, yet again.

3:30p.m.

'It's going to be a REALLY long day….' He sighed even deeper.


	2. Chapter 2 First Night

Inevitably, eleven o' clock did come and he checked out for good.

Mustang walked the familiar path with his steely grey eyes closed tightly as he approached the gate, afraid that when he opened them, she wouldn't be there.

A soft breeze whipped up and caught in his hair. The suddenness of it broke the still, clear night air, giving him the courage he needed to open his eyes.

Sure enough, there stood the girl from the park, Rumor. He couldn't decide if the moonlight or if the sunlight looked better with her. At that moment, both were dimmed by her radiance.

She stood, smiling, confident and comfortable behind the bars and he thought that that didn't suit her well. Once beyond the gate, where they stood without barriers, is where he thought she belonged, without cages, leashes or collars. For some reason, that made him feel guilty about meeting her here.

"I'm sorry." Roy apologized quickly. It was the first either had spoken.

This surprised Rumor. A confused look crossed her face and he bowed lower.

"I'm sorry, if I am taking up any plans you had with someone else, a friend, or family, time for yourself, or whatever…. I'm sorry!"

Still confused, she smiled softly with her head cocked to the side, "I don't know what brought this on, but don't you think that if I had plans, I would have told you I did this morning? And besides, who makes plans on a regular basis for eleven at night, anyway?"

"Point taken." He said, noticing how cute it was when she tilted her head. "But what about sleep?"

"Are you tired?"

Though he had been all day, suddenly, he wasn't. "No."

"Neither am I. Are we going to go out now, or just stand here so you can apologize needlessly some more?" She teased lightly.

Her smile was contagious, and Roy caught it. "No, let's go."

"Alright then! Where to?" She was a bolt of energy now.

"I don't know. Any ideas?"

"Hmm… food. Are you buying?"

"Yes. My treat." He said still grinning slightly.

"WHOO! Which restaurant?" She asked all smiles and hops now.

"Wherever you want."

"Hmm… I don't know. Let's walk around until we find something."

"Okay." Mustang agreed.

"Do you want to change first? That uniform looks extremely uncomfortable."

"No, that's alright, I'm okay for now."

"Oh, okay. Do you mind if we play Q and A?"

"Play what?"

"Questions and Answers!" She beamed brightly.

"Oh, right." Roy felt stupid for not figuring that out on his own. "No, not at all."

"Alright, I'll go first. How old are you?"

"21. And you?"

"17. You're question!" She said brightly, unfazed.

Roy was taken aback, she had seemed so much older, and he had counted on at least 18. "Umm… let's see. How about, what are your parents like?"

"I don't remember. I'm an orphan. They both died when I was young."

"I'm sorry." His face fell.

"Don't be. It's no big deal. I've taken care of my self most of my life, with the villages help of course." Brushing it off, Mustang admired her courage.

"Where did you come from?" He asked as they walked along some more, Central HQ's grounds were no longer visible.

"Oh, look! That place looks good! Do you want to go in?" She had been looking around and had spotted a little corner diner to eat at.

"Sure, they have good food." He and Hughes came here often for lunch.

"Great! I'm starving!"

Roy Mustang watched as she skipped across the street. It was suddenly obvious that she was still a minor. Or did she just get hyper sometimes? In a lot of ways, he could already see how much like Hughes she was: Independent, lovable, hyper, kind, and serious when need be. Both shared that same, contagious smile. 'I have a feeling the two of them would get along well.'

Rumor stopped on the sidewalk to turn back to Mustang who still stood on the opposite side, hands in his pockets. "It's still open! Come on!"

Looking down briefly to smile, he looked back up and crossed the empty space between them.

Once seated, and ordered, Mustang put his elbows on the table and his hands under his chin, those hands now held home to a pair of white gloves with a red design woven into them in the shape of a transmutation circle, specific for conjuring flames. They were the same gloves she had suspected seeing earlier in the day.

Gazing at her and vaguely noticing once again that she was wearing those same sunglasses, he decided to ask about them.

"Why don't you take your sunglasses off? It is night, and we are inside." He asked curious.

"Oh." She said, as if noticing for the first time. Then she answered casually without hesitation, practiced. "I have sensitive eyes. The doctor says I am something like an owl. I can see perfectly at night, but the sunlight is too much for my eyes to take."

"Hmm…." Mustang thought about that for a moment. "But, it IS night outside, so why do you still wear them?"

"For two reasons; one, I'm so used to them on, that I feel awkward without them, and two, with or without the glasses, I see just as well, if not better with them on at night. Like I said, my eyes are super sensitive. What do you like to do?"

"What?"

"What do you like to do? You know, like a hobby." She asked again, calmly.

"Oh, well, I don't know. I never really had one."

Contemplating that thoroughly, she continued. "Oh, well, I like to do art; painting, sketching, stuff like that."

"Really? Are you good?"

"Eh." She shrugged.

"So, Rumor is your name. It's kind of… unusual. How did you get it?" Mustang asked as politely as he could.

She took no notice of his hesitation. "Oh, well, when I was first born, no one really knew about me. There was a rumor going around that my mom and dad had had a baby even though they weren't married. In my village, that kind of stuff is taboo. So, when they found out that they were married, and that I was alive, soon after, my parents died, so they named me Rumor because everyone had heard the gossip!"

"Oh, that's… interesting…." Roy's voice faded off.

"Isn't it? I don't really mind though, it kind of grows on a person, you know?" She smiled brightly.

"Yeah, I think so too." He smiled as well.

"Orders here!" Rumor squeaked as the waitress set the plates and silverware down in front of them.

"Thank you, Becky." Roy gave his gratitude to the waitress, who, at the sight of his company's gender, frowned slightly.

"My pleasure." She left without another word.

"Yeah, Thanks!" Rumor called after her back.

Mustang continued to study her as she began wolfing down her meal.

"How long has it been since you have eaten properly?" He asked after only a minute or two.

She swallowed hard, "Hmm? I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"Because you finished your plate in record time." Taking up his napkin, he dabbed at her chin and lips where there were crumbs left from her bread. Rumor just sat still, too embarrassed to move. "There, that's better."

Pushing his plate towards her, he advised to not devour this one so fast. "You will only give yourself a gut ache."

Nodding, she began to eat more slowly, conscious of his dazzling eyes watching her. She blushed slightly at his gaze.

Stealing a fry from his old plate, he placed it in his mouth and munched on it slowly.

Through her glasses, Rumor watched Roy chew his food oh, so carefully. There was something sensual about the way his jaw moved to consume the fare and gain maximum pleasure of its taste. She found herself imagining his tongue and lips moving like that with hers, tasting her and enjoying every minute of it….

Shaking her head slightly to remove those kinds of thoughts, she looked back at him, still watching her, then down at her plate, which was now empty.

"Ready to go?" He asked her, noticing her vacant platter. With a nod from her, he called for a check.

Leaving a few extra coins on the table, they got up and walked back out into the clean night air.

Talking about trivial things like the weather and what they do on their free time, it wasn't until the first rays of the sun peaked out over to the east had they realized how quickly the night had gone.

"It's funny," Roy began, "Yesterday afternoon felt like weeks had been crammed into the time frame, yet the last seven hours had gone by like it was a half hour stroll."

Smiling, the suns light complemented her mood, she said thoughtfully, "Time flies when you're with your love, yet is unhurried when you're apart."

Realizing what she just said, she added quickly, embarrassed, "I mean… that's what I read some where. A quote from some famous prophet or something, I meant it figuratively, like a figure of speech."

Returning to a neutral tone in his deep voice, he said, "Of course, I knew what you meant…." He paused to look at her in the early morning glow. Looking up at him to meet his gaze, he caught a glimpse of her eyes through the darkened lenses, they were wide with embarrassment, and kind, reminding him so much of Hughes, "And, you're right. Or your prophet is anyway…."

It was a dry joke and they left it at that.

He asked to walk her home, the moment had become awkward.

"No, that's alright. I don't live far. I'll see you around."

"When can I see you again?" Roy asked as Rumor had turned to leave.

Looking over her backpack clad shoulder; she smiled and said, "I'll wait for you, same place."

"I don't have the same schedule everyday."

"I have nothing but time." She turned her head, and she was gone with the wind, leaving Mustang dumbfounded. Remembering that he had to be back at Central HQ at eight, it was six now.

'Hmph… enough time to change and take a shower; this ought to be a GRAND 'ol day….' He thought sarcastically, but somehow, he couldn't conjure up a bad attitude about it. He felt as refreshed and happy as could be. The night had not been anything near what he could call a waste.

…

As Rumor walked back to the park near Central HQ, she smiled ruefully at her parting sentence and the truth in it. She literally had nothing but time. She shrugged her backpack off and pulled out a ratted old blanket and laid it under one of the slides, she was dog tired, but knew she wouldn't sleep long. She didn't like sleep. Her night had been full, something she couldn't say for any part in her life previous to yesterday. For once in her 17 years of life, she looked forward to both sleeping… and waking. And so, with thoughts of the charcoal eyed man, she drifted into the most wonderful of dreams.


	3. Chapter 3 Reality

Hughes watched as his friend walked into the shared office. He was smiling with his eyes closed, as if he was reliving the sweetest moments of his life.

"So, what's up with that stupid grin on your face?" Hughes joked, but it caught Mustang's attention.

"Huh? What stupid grin?" He snapped, though his cheeks flushed, giving him away.

"That stupid grin that you can't keep off your stupid face. Don't hold out on me! What happened?" Rubbing his hands together as if a big juicy steak was set out in front of him, he was hungry for the latest scoop in Mustang's usually most flamboyant love life.

"Not much to tell. We went out for some food at the little diner we usually hit for lunch, and then we walked all around last night, just talking."

Hughes' face dropped, obviously disappointed at the lackluster story. "Sounds like great fun. So… then what, did you get her in the sack?"

"Hughes…!" Mustang's voice turned to steel, he brought his fingers together for display, and his eyes shut tight in an effort to not scorch his friend where he sat behind the mini mountains of research on his desk.

Catching the threat that had been posed for him, Hughes recovered himself before his hot headed friend snapped (figuratively AND literally), "Gotcha'! PG rated date! I get it!"

Lips still pursed, Mustang brought down his hand and continued to sit behind his own desk. "So, how are you and you're new girlfriend doing?" He said in an effort to get the attention off of himself. It worked.

"Oh! She is just the sweetest little bag of honey you could ever imagine! She invited me to her house this after noon for dinner and guess what she's making? Lemon pepper chicken with croissants and green beans and as a desert, Orange sherbet! MY FAVORITE! And after that, well who knows what could happen….!"

Off he went.

Mustang settled for closing his eyes and bracing his head against a fist to relax so he could tune out the endless chatter from his friend. He had to admit though; Hughes' cheer was an added bonus to his own pleasure filled thoughts.

…

Rumor picked up the sounds of the town waking and stretched gracefully before crawling out into the late morning sun. She looked down at herself. Still clad in yesterday's clothes, which were dirty from sand and dust, she checked her pockets, trying to find any money that she might have stuffed away. Nothing.

'Just great.' She thought. She only had one change of clothes. Walking deeper into the park, she found the rivers edge that the park sat next to. She looked into the clear water at her rippling reflection, she was a mess. Her hair was messed and dirt clotted from her makeshift bed, and her clothes weren't much better. Going into the public restroom she changed.

She put on her black pants and another tank top, it was black as well. Removing her boots, she rinsed them off in the sink before washing out her hair.

Splashing water onto her face, she took some in her hands, and combined with the soap from the dispenser, she washed her limbs as best she could.

Noticing a rubber band that was abandoned on the floor, she picked it up and pulled her hair back to a short pony tail at the base of her neck.

With another look into the smudged mirror, she was much happier with what she saw.

Along with the blanket, she stuffed her clothes into the pack, but instead pulled out a black pauper's hat to compliment her outfit.

Smiling, she stepped back out into the real world that she lived in, back pack replaced to its spot.

…

Walking through the streets, Rumor breathed in the day. It was a glorious morning, or was it just her perception? Either way, her spirits were high.

She entered a shop that she came by quite often. It was run by a nice elderly woman.

"Hello, miss. What can I do for you today?"

"Hi, madam. I was wondering if you had any more of your daughter's old clothes for me?"

Rumor thought about the weight on her back and frowned in her thoughts at how pitifully empty it was. She was certain she could fit at least two or three more sets of garments in there and still have a little room.

"Oh, sure, dearie! Right this way." Grabbing a walking stick from behind the counter, she hobbled her way into the back and up a flight of stairs that led to a loft apartment where she lived. Her little girl was grown, married, and moved out now with children of her own. She had left some of her belongings behind; those were the things that Rumor had come for. According to the kind old women, the daughter hadn't come home in years.

Rumor waited in the makeshift kitchen while the women went into her daughter's former room. She came back shortly with three outfits in hand. One was a pair of jeans that were dark brown with a matching t-shirt. Another had a plain dark blue long sleeve with a pair of near matching dark blue jeans. But the third, it was a cream colored sundress that had large pink and white flowers on it. The light cream tint would compliment her dark skin perfectly.

"I know this isn't the kind of thing you usually ask for, but I was up late last night and saw you walking by on the street with that handsome boy, and I thought that you might like something if the occasion ever arose for something more… you know. I also thought this color would compliment your skin ever so nicely, dearie." The old women beamed. Rumor couldn't help but smile too.

"Thank you, I really do like it." Taking it gently, she folded the others and put them in her back pack. "May I use your bathroom?"

"Of course, dearie."

Walking into the small room, she stripped down, removed her hat and even her glasses. Slipping the dress on over her head, she looked at her reflection in the full length mirror. What she saw stopped her in her thoughts.

"You look exquisite. I knew that would fit you. You are so much like my daughter." She said adoringly.

Indeed, the dress was a perfect fit. It was a summer cut; wide tank top straps, squared over the chest, form fitting, and flowing out at the hips to flow to out around the mid-thigh.

"Except for my eyes…." Rumor muttered harshly to herself but the women heard her anyway.

"No. You are both beautiful. And so are your eyes." Rumor began to unzip the dress when the old woman's soft, frail fingers stopped her. "Not yet. You need shoes too, dearie. Can't wear those things with this dress!"

Rumor pouted at the reference she had made to her combat style boots.

Walking into the other bedroom once again, she returned this time with a pair of cream colored, strappy heels that matched perfectly. "Try these."

Slipping a slender foot into each, the fit was just right.

After she finished doing them up, she looked at herself once again.

"He won't be able to speak after seeing you in this!" She smiled even wider. "Don't be ashamed of who you are. Be proud."

"Pride doesn't help me much when it comes to society, madam."

"You're right, but you shouldn't be so reluctant to show off those dazzling eyes of yours either."

"You must be blinder than I thought grams."

She chuckled at this; her voice fell around Rumor like soft chimes tinkling in the wind. For a moment, Rumor almost saw the young girl surface from beneath the wrinkles.

"Thank you, grams. I owe you one." Rumor hugged the frail women lovingly; it was all she had to give.

"No, thank you. And don't worry about payment, your smile is enough. If you really want to pay me back, invite me to your wedding!"

"Madam! I only just met him yesterday!"

She chuckled again, the girl bubbling even closer to the face.

They said their goodbyes with the dress and shoes in their rightful place in her pack.

Rumor looked to the sun, her glasses and hat replaced, and saw that it was getting close to noon, "Lunch time."

…

Looking up to the clock, it was quarter to noon.

"Yo, Hughes! You want to go get some lunch!"

"You know it!" His voice shouted back from the depths of the papers surrounding him.

The two soldiers walked out into the blazing sun. Both blinked away the brightness after being cooped up in the tight space of their crowded, windowless office.

Roy put his arm over his eyes as he continued to blink away the light. Spotting what he couldn't believe, he had to flicker his eyes even more to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

He wasn't. For at that moment, Hughes elbowed him hard in his unprotected ribs.

"Roy! Check out that hottie! Whoo! I think she's the reason it so freakin' hot out here!" Hughes shouted out loud enough so she would turn, Mustang tried to stop him, "YO, BABY! LOOK THIS WAY!"

"No… no…." He muttered in a rush.

Too late.

Rumor looked over her shoulder through the gate that she had been leaning against.

Mustang's face turned hotter than the sun from embarrassment; he pulled his hat low to cover his eyes.

Despite the comment made by Hughes, Rumor couldn't help herself; she beamed at the sight of the Second Lieutenant and his friend.

As the soldiers made their way through the gate, Mustang still had his hat pulled low.

"Hi." She greeted.

"Hello, miss. Don't mind my friend here; he's a little shy today." Hughes held out his hand for hers. When she gave it to him, he kissed the back of it.

Giggling a little, her smile widened. "Thank you, but I met him yesterday."

Hughes stopped short.

"You mean… you're… HER?"

Rumor looked confused and cocked her head again, still smiling. "'Her' who?"

"HER, HER. The one that Mustang here can't shut up about!" Hughes exploded. Roy seemed to drift further and further away in a cloud of gloom.

Still smiling, now with a small flush of color, she confronted Mustang.

"Is that true? You're talking about me?"

When he didn't answer, Hughes piped up again, "Yes, but in a good way!"

Turning back to Mustang, Rumor walked up to him and lifted his hat from over his eyes, they were inches from each other's face, "It's okay, really… no one has ever talked about me in a GOOD way before."

She winked at him and impossibly, his face grew redder and hotter at her closeness, but he couldn't help the smile from their private joke. "O- okay…."

"Good! So, are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Mustang looked from Rumor to Hughes, clearing his throat he complied. "Right. This is Officer Meas Hughes, and this is the girl I was telling you about, Rumor."

"Pleasure to meet you, Officer Meas Hughes." She smiled brightly.

"The pleasure is mine, lady Rumor." Hughes bowed and turned to Mustang. "You know what would be fun? If we stopped by Gracia's and picked her up for a double date!"

Mustang checked his watch. "Hughes, she lives four blocks out of the way. We have twenty minutes left now. If we were to pick her up, go to the restaurant, and walk her back home, we would be late. In fact, if we went anywhere further than the grounds, we will be late. Do you just want to hit up the cafeteria today? After all, you are going to see her tonight."

Sighing heavily he looked back at Mustang, pouting, "Fine, fine. Take all my fun away. We will definitely have to have a rain check, of course! Providing the two of you get hooked up! See you in the chow hall!" He ran back inside waving enthusiastically, giving the two "alone-time".

All he left was an awkward silence between the two of them.

Breaking the quiet, Mustang began, "Well, I would like to see you again. Sorry about lunch, we don't have a very long break, being just barely above a rank soldier and all. We'll get longer lunch once promoted again."

"Don't worry about it! But… I would like to see you too." She blushed.

"Really?" Mustang burst out. He recovered his cool demeanor quickly, embarrassed. "Well, where do you live? I could pick you up. I get off at seven tonight."

"Oh, um…" Rumor began, nervously biting at her lip. "How about I meet you here again?"

"Okay, what's the matter? Do you live far away or something like that? Because if so, it's no trouble, I could get a car…."

"No, it's nothing like that; I'll just be in the area so it's no big deal. I'll meet you. Now, if you don't hurry, you won't get lunch at all."

"Oh, right! Okay, I'll see you later." With reluctance, he turned and jogged back into HQ.

She watched him leave and a part of her left with him.


	4. Chapter 4 Choices and Cages

With nothing else to do, she walked around the downtown strip.

However, she didn't have any money, so to save herself the excuses of browsing; she simply looked at the items on display in the windows.

The sun beat hard on her neck, but she didn't mind. It reminded her of home….

She saw everything from tiny frogs with bobbing heads to gallant wedding gowns and evening dresses.

Stopping, she looked at them now.

Rumor imagined herself in one of those, the pure white contradicting her reddish brown skin pleasantly. She walked down the isle, and saw Second Lieutenant Roy Mustang clad in a white soldiers uniform, his badges in their place upon his chest, waiting for her at the alter. Grey eyes on only her….

Shaking her head, she rid the image from her mind. 'How can I think these things? I've only just met him!'

Despite herself, she sighed heavily. Regardless of how long she's known him for, she couldn't deny the connection she felt with him. They had talked all last night and into the early morning about simple things, and about themselves. She had shared some of her dearest thoughts with him, and he had retuned the favor by telling her some of his memories that he had not shared with another living soul.

'How does he feel about me?' She looked to the bright blue sky, as if it held the answer.

…

Mustang's ears rang. He heard it loud and clear despite the clamor of the mess hall.

"Hey, Hughes, my ears are ringing! They've never rang before!"

Hughes clapped his hand on Mustang's shoulder, hard. "That means your true love is thinking about you! Ever since I met Gracia, my ears ring 24/7! Such a pleasant sound! I welcome every moment of it!" His voice got all mushy and romantic at the last part.

"So, she's the one, is that what you're saying?" Mustang looked at him, neutral.

"Yep! She's the one, man. No doubt!"

"So, are you going to marry her?" He asked too innocently.

Hughes spit out the mouthful of food and drink he had just shoved into his chops.

"I take it you haven't really thought about that…. Well, how long have you known; you know… that she's "the one"?" Mustang continued casually.

Cleaning himself off, Hughes was happy to take on the new question, "First day, man. I mean it. I totally believe in love at first sight. Gracia and I hit it off right from _momento uno_."

"Oh," Mustang returned to his plate. "That's cool." Roy took that into deep thought so he didn't bother correcting Hughes' foreign grammar error.

"Yep! We've been like glue and sugar ever since!"

"I take it she's the sugar and you're the glue."

Blushing, Hughes shut up.

Mustang left Hughes in the office with his paper work and records, while he went out to take shift in hall patrol.

His ears hadn't stopped ringing and oddly, it comforted him. He went through all his memories of the last couple days carefully, savoring each one that he had of Rumor. Though they had talked for hours, he felt there was something very important that she was keeping from him, but what could he expect? They'd only just met!

'I wonder why it's so easy for me to forget that….'

…

Like yesterday, Rumor was waiting for him at the end of his shift. His ears rang even louder.

"Hey, there!" She greeted.

He looked at her through new eyes. "Hi."

Noticing the depth of his gaze, Rumor looked away nervously.

"I- I'm starved! Are you buying again? I'm super hungry!"

"Okay, yeah, I'm buying."

"Alright! I was walking the Strip earlier today and saw the cutest little café! It's still open, I checked the hours when I walked by."

Mustang smiled at her enthusiasm. He nodded in agreement with her suggestion.

"YAY!" Prancing ahead, Mustang jogged to keep up.

"So, do you want to continue our game of Q and A?"

"Sure, if you have any new questions for me!" Rumor chirped at the pleasure of him using her slang for the pastime.

"Where do you live?"

Rumor hesitated, "You already asked that. It's an old question! Next!"

"You didn't answer before and you're ducking again. Why won't you tell, me, don't you want me to know?" Mustang said with concern evident in his voice.

"It's not that, I DO want you to know, it's just… complicated."

Now, Mustang was worried. "Are you living with somebody?"

It was evident he meant another guy.

"No! No, nothing like that!"

He couldn't help but sigh in relief, "then, what?"

"Why don't you tell me where you live?"

Mustang sighed, she wasn't going to give. "Usually, at HQ…" He paused and she laughed a little, the reaction he had been hoping for, even if it was a little bit forced and awkward, "But legally, I'm renting a small ranch like thing just off of River Avenue, right on the river behind the park."

Rumor stopped short. Mustang stopped too. "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Why are you in Central?" She resumed walking.

"This is where I took basic. I haven't been transferred anywhere. You?"

"I'm… stopped here temporarily. I travel all over."

"Why do you travel?" Mustang asked, his voice falling at the implication of her 'temporary' stay.

"Research. I'm researching different kinds of alchemy. What's your specialty, being a state alchemist and all, who have they titled you to be?"

The left corner of his mouth curled up into an off-set smile at the question.

"The Flame Alchemist."

She laughed, "Well that's self-explanatory!"

"What's your alchemy?"

She cackled even harder.

He felt that he was missing some sort of joke, "Why is that so funny?"

Gaining control, she answered, "Because, I consider myself an air/wind alchemist!"

Roy was still confused, "…so?"

She laughed again, "So? Air fuels flames! Come on! Simple natural science here!"

Slowly, he put it together, 'air fuels flames….' '…. She fuels me….'

"I GET IT!" he exploded stupidly in a fit of laughter.

She clapped sarcastically, "Congrats! You pass the third grade!"

He sighed in defeat, still smiling, "Can we just get there already?"

"Sure, it's just a few blocks away now!"

They walked the rest of the way, joking and laughing.

Once they were settled in the little shop that smelled strongly of coffee and chocolate, Roy asked her in all seriousness.

"So, you don't mind?" This question had been eating at him since yesterday.

"Don't mind what?" She asked easily.

Mustang placed his hands under his chin again, as he had done at the diner yesterday night, "You don't mind that I'm a dog of the military?"

"Nope. Why would I? You haven't done anything to me or to the people I belonged too."

He sighed his relief, "Wait, you said the people you _belonged_ to, what happened?"

Rumor cursed herself silently for letting that past-tense slip, "I- uh…" It was too late to make an excuse. She debated telling him the truth or not. In the end, she told the truth, mostly, "I've been cast out by my people for knowing and practicing alchemy. So, I've been branded an outcast."

"For learning alchemy?" Mustang questioned it as if it was the most absurd thing he had ever heard.

She nodded sadly, "It's against our beliefs, but I can't help myself. I love alchemy. Who knows, maybe I'll find a similar God who accepts alchemy.…"

They remained silent a moment, Roy stared into her glasses, trying to see what lies beneath the dark tint. He didn't have the heart to tell her he didn't believe there was a God.

They ate their meal and quickly gaining back high spirits.

…

"So, have you ever considered… you know, settling down?" He asked her in regard to her earlier traveling comment.

Rumor was not dense, she caught on to what he meant and returned with a question of her own, "Have you ever considered running free as the wind? Or have you always preferred a cage?"

She spoke the words lightly, but her remark cut him deep.

"No, I have always been in the military house hold. My parents died in battle when I was fifteen and I was sent off to military camp, been in ever since. Tell me, what's it like, living like you do?" Roy's voice hushed at the end with deep curiosity burning at the iron in his eyes.

Her eyes glazed over as she looked casually to the darkened sky, perhaps to relive the memories she's had on the road. Rumor's voice grew soft, but excited… as if in some far off place.

"It's like you wouldn't believe. Endless nights of starry skies and watching, night after night as the moon waxed, then waned, and then waxed again, an endless cycle that has taken place since the beginning of time. Some of the people I've met have been nice, others, not." She thought of the old lady who tended the shop across the street. She seemed as timeless as the moon cycles. "Then the cities and villages I've seen! Some of the cities are grand and over flowing with urban technology, but it's the rural villages I really love! The ones in the most remote areas, they are surrounded by the softest, greenest grass that make the most comfortable beds! And the foods in those places are simply exquisite!"

Mustang smiled gently, his charcoal colored eyes softened at the sight of her face, the moons reflection was in her glasses, added to the beauty of her skin, and the gentleness of her voice.

Rumor glanced over to Roy, seeing him again; embarrassed by her needless ranting, but she couldn't help herself. It was then that she noticed it, that "look" in his eyes once again, as if she were the only important thing in the world, the most beautiful, and the most precious. It made her body tingle pleasantly from head to toe, and caused her guts to do summersaults of delight.

"I wish I could have seen it," Mustang added to the moment with his deep, sensual voice, "I wish I could have been there, on your journeys."

There was a long, meaning filled silence, they stood in the empty street, the moon at its peak, before Rumor returned, hushed and inviting, "If you wanted, you could be there from here on…."

Paused, Roy answered, despairingly, "I can't… I want to, but I can't."

Rumor closed the distance between them and touched his uniform lightly, "I know. That's why, if you wanted me to stay, I would…."

Roy was taken aback by her offer.

"I- I do. I want you to stay. I know this seems a little sudden, but… would you be my- my- my…."

"…girlfriend…?" She whispered, finishing what she hoped to be his sentence.

"Yeah, girlfriend." He smiled at her.

She smiled back. "Yeah, I'll be yours."

Instead of a kiss, Roy took her in his arms and held her tightly.

She marveled at his muscles, she could feel the ones in his chest, his stomach, and his legs. She loved this, being held by him. Everywhere their bodies touched, was where they both tingled with delight.

Returning the embrace, the moment was perfect. Breaking apart slowly, they walked back towards the park and to where Roy lived in the small ranch house, holding hands. On the way, he apologized once again.

"I'm sorry for this. Your staying here. I just can't ignore the pull I feel towards you. It's gravitational."

"I know what you mean. I feel it too. I offered to stay so don't beat yourself up about it. I'm here because I want to be."

He only smiled softly and sadly, at a loss for words. She smiled as well.

When they got to the door, they hugged again and he rewarded her with a soft kiss on the cheek.

"See you tomorrow?"

"You mean, today?" She smiled playfully.

He checked his pocket watch, it was, in fact quarter after twelve.

With an enchanting smile, he answered, "Yes, see you today?"

"You know it!"

Both still frozen in smiling glee, she turned blushing to the streets, walking drunk in a daze.

'I don't think I'll stay at the park again, too open, my cover would be blown if he caught a glimpse of me on his way to HQ!' Her thought cleared her senses of his impact.

Not wanting to be too far from Mustang, she looked around the park's trees and spotted a high branch that looked wide enough to sleep on comfortably.

She clasped her wrists' opposites, and concentrated on what she wanted; for the wind to carry her to the tree tops, touching her hands evenly to the tree, she connected with its life force, asked its permission, and then the wind funnels around her took her up. Closing her eyes in a prayer fashion, she thanked the tree for allowing her to use its energy and limbs.

Sitting with her back to the tree, her blanket waded up for support and comfort beneath her; she looked to his house. Blushing, she saw him buttoning up his light blue night shirt. Looking back to the sky, reddened, she fell easily into a deep doze, with dreams falling solely around the Second Lieutenant surly ready to sleep just meters away.

…

Roy changed and collapsed into his bed, thankful for the long needed sleep that would come almost immediately with the tune his ears sang to him.

His dreams took him to a place he only wished he could see in reality, but he assumed, they were just as sweet, it was a place of soft, green grass dancing in the wind, and he lay down in its sweet aroma, next to his love….


	5. Chapter 5 Hitting It Off

Rumor heard a door shut.

She woke quickly and glanced at the sun. Almost noon, then she glanced down at the house across the street and saw Mustang immerge from his house, stretching and yawning from his good nights rest, 'And how good it looks on him!'

Stuffing her blanket into her bag and slinging it over her shoulder in one quick motion, she clasps her wrists again and hoped onto the ground in front of him, the pre-placed air concentration, broke her fall, unnoticed by outsiders, only she felt the pressure thickness.

"What the blazes? Where did you come from?" Mustang shouted out his surprise.

Rumor smiled and pointed to the branch high above their heads.

"You really shouldn't scare me like that! I almost fried you!" Roy held his poised hand in front of her to make his point.

"I'm impressed, you have really quick reflexes!"

"It's a good thing they weren't any quicker."

"Well, this has been some greeting! Especially to your new girlfriend!" Rumor smiled, liking the way that word related them, and then she pouted for his attention.

Mustang redeemed himself by taking her into his arms and leaning his head down to kiss her forehead tenderly. She snuggled in tighter to his chest, wrapping her own arms around his narrow waist.

Breaking the moment after some time had passed, she offered to walk him to the gate, and so, she did. They walked hand in hand.

Once at the gate, they hugged again, reluctant to let go, but were quickly interrupted.

"Hey!" Hughes waved his hand. "What's up?"

'He has way too much energy….' Roy thought, his buoyant mood falling.

"Nothing." Roy was suddenly dismal.

"Looks like you two getting hooked, is what's up!" Hughes stopped when he got closer and looked from Mustang to Rumor, then back again. "Hey, Rumor, why are you still wearing the clothes you wore yesterday?"

"Huh?" Embarrassed, Rumor looked down, and yes, she was still in her black apparel, hat and all. "Oh, well… I- I was up all last night! Yep and changing just slipped my mind! Eh-heh-heh…!"

"Oh, okay. You never went home after you walked me to my house?" Mustang asked her directly.

"Nope! It was such a beautiful night! How could I waste it in dreams! Heh heheh…. I better go now." Rumor turned to leave but heard Mustang calling after her.

"Where will you be tonight?"

"I'll find you!" With that, she was gone.

…

Once again inside the small office, Hughes asked him how last night went.

"Great. We went out to eat, talked, I asked her to be my girlfriend… and she obviously said yes…."

"If it was that good, then why do you sound so dreary about it?" Hughes asked, with all jokes pushed aside.

"Because," Mustang began, "I feel so… guilty."

"For what?"

"I feel like I'm… tying her down in someway by asking her to stay with me. She was telling me what it was like to travel, and 'run with the wind', as she says. It all sounded so wonderful, that I don't want to hold her back." Roy was staring at his desk with an empty expression, he was in deep thought.

The mini mountain had been knocked down some, so Hughes could see his friends' concentration clearly over the stacks of white. "Okay, this might be a little difficult for you to comprehend, being the "babe-magnet" that you are, but it doesn't seem to me that Rumor would be the kind of girl to just drop her entire life-style to stay with you if she didn't really believe that you weren't worth staying with." Hughes paused to think a moment longer before continuing, "I don't know, I think that a serious relationship might be good for you my all-too promiscuous friend!"

Roy snorted in amusement at his friends' phrasing, barely cracking his drab mood. "There's one more thing I'm worried about, she's 17."

"So what's your point?" Hughes asked without concern.

"My point! I'm 21!"

"Again, I ask, what's your point?"

"My frickin' point is, is that she is four years younger than me! She's barely legal!"

"Are you talking about sex, or actually legally, because she is both, you know."

"But just barely!" Mustang argued again, growing more concerned with each word he spoke.

"So what? It's a little late for you to be getting cold feet now. You already asked the poor girl out. Break up with her now and you will totally crush all faith she had in men. She's legal, cute, young, and in ten years, the age difference will be nothing. Do you like her?"

"Huh?" Mustang was surprised at how out of place the question seemed to be.

"Do… you… like…her…?" Hughes repeated slowly so he could comprehend.

"Yeah, I like her. I like her a lot."

"Then what's your problem? She's trading her freedom and fertility for your company. So shut up and accept it." Hughes, again, was completely nonchalant.

"WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT FERTILITY?" Mustang exploded at the idea of her not being… you know… sacred.

"You see, you care about her a lot, maybe she will finally be able to get you stop being such a player, you ol' dog!" Regaining his joker man attitude, the after noon passed by normally. "Oh, and by the way it looked this morning, sure looks like you two really hit it off!"

…

The next few weeks blew by in a haze. All that Mustang knew was that they were some of the happiest days of his existence.

Rumor's life had gone from wild and crazy, to tamed and playful. She didn't mind in the least.


	6. Chapter 6 Day In The Park

"What do you think about, when you are at work, and we are apart?" Rumor asked one lazy afternoon. They had set out a blanket of Roy's to sit on by the bank of the crystal clear river.

"Do you really have to ask?" Mustang leaned back, his soldiers coat was lying nearby, and his sleeves were rolled up and his shirt half undone from the heat of the day.

'Gawd, he looks amazing….'

"Oh, eh-heh…" Her face warmed with her blood. "Tell me anyway."

Mustang looked to her, staring to the river. She was kneeling a couple feet away from him and back in the outfit she wore the day they had first met.

'She's simply stunning.'

"I think of you, constantly." Roy stared into the blue sky. Rumor looked at him now. "When I look to the sky, all I see is you."

Looking back to her, his eyes filled with fervor, she had to look away once again. It had been that way with her since the day they met. When ever he looked at her so intently, she had to look away; she was too embarrassed; she'd never seen such longing for her in any guy before. She feared that things would get out hand; they hadn't even had their first kiss yet. She'd never had her first kiss ever.

Roy took the arm she had been leaning back on and pulled her to him. She was hopeless at resisting his need to be closer, she wanted it too. He put an ungloved finger under her chin and turned it to him, looking past his reflection in her tinted glasses, to see what lay beneath.

"Why is it you look away from me?" His voice was deep, soft, and coaxing the answer from her lips. She was useless to not oblige, his intense eyes nudged and pulled at her insides in new ways she had yet to experience (that was a shock, since after meeting him; her guts had been twisting and coiling in new pleasurable ways ever since).

"It's just that, when you look at me, like you are now, and like you have been since that night that we got together, I fall to pieces and am afraid that if I look, even a moment too long, I'm afraid of losing myself completely to you."

Mustang considered this, not moving an inch "Is it really that scary for you? Of losing yourself to me?"

She nodded lightly against his finger. "For me, it is. I've never had to lose it this way to anyone before. It's like… breaking while remaining whole and at the same time joining you and becoming closer to one existence… I don't know how to explain it quite right."

"That does sound scary and complicated." Mustang smiled in a new way, which Rumor found even sexier than her favorite left slanted smile. "Maybe it's time to try something new?"

Looking down briefly, she silently made her decision.

She scooted closer, pressing as much of her form as she could, lightly against his muscular physique. He removed his hand from her chin and instead slid it slowly down her arm to rest lightly on her hips, gently encouraging her closer.

Leaning her face nearer to his, she picked up on his distinct smell that she had come to crave; it was woodsy with a hint of spice and a breezy water scent. Her mouth watered with desire. She fought the urge to turn away.

Unconsciously knowing that her eyes were closed and expectant, he closed the short distance between their mouths and connected with hers.

A burst of energy radiated between them, sending pleasurable ripples of yearning through their entire being.

Overcome by the moment and flood of new sensations, Rumor pressed harder to him, and allowed for him to guide her onto the top of his wide chest. They drank their fill of each others kisses, but it still wasn't enough, making a quick decision, Roy tried to lick her lips with the tip of his tongue. Rumor's first instinct was to pull back, but she didn't, instead, she relaxed and concentrated on how fine it felt. Continuing to kiss one another constantly, Rumor smiled despite her self, she thought back to that day in the diner when she had imagined him tasting her as he had tasted the fry, and it had come true, but it was better than her imagination could have possibly fabricated.

Feeling her smile, Roy smiled too, and continued with his long needed tasting of her. To him, she was sweeter than the Death by Chocolate ice cream he had sampled with Hughes and Gracia once. He smiled wider, thinking that maybe Rumor would like the ice cream too; he knew how she loved sweets. Apparently, he liked them more than he had thought, for he continued to savor Rumor, far more than need be and how sweet she was!

"Mm… Rumor…." He muttered between kisses.

"Oh… Roy…." She explored his neck with her lips… then….

"Mommy, what are they doing?" A kid's voice asked from some ten feet behind their heads; jerking them both, abruptly back into their surroundings.

"Something you mustn't do for many, many, many years. Let's go, NOW!" She jerked her kid away, shooting a disgusted look at the now separated couple.

Both Rumor and Mustang were red from head to toe.

"Uh… eh-heh… opps…." Mustang rubbed his head, embarrassed completely.

"Eh… yeah… opps…."

There was a long, awkward silence.

"…Well… It could have been worse!"

"How so?" Rumor asked dismally.

"Well, Hughes could have been the one to spot us and taken a picture or something!" Mustang tried to add an air of humor to his words, knowing how completely mortified she must feel at her first debut of major P.D.A.

"Oh, yeah, that's so much worse…." Rumor wasn't laughing.

This time it was Mustang who moved closer to her. She tried to pull away, he tightened his grip slightly and she stopped struggling at the silent command.

He buried his head in her hair, inhaling her floral scent that smelled like summer memories to him; memories of this summer with her. He had seen a glimpse of the lotion bottle in her pack before, it was Magnolia Blossom.

"Mustang… we shouldn't…." Rumor began, softly, not completely willing to object his intimacy.

He mumbled readily, "But we want to…"

She couldn't object to that.

He leaned back, his arms wrapped tightly around her middle, she lay across his chest, her head resting to the side on his shoulder joint, and he put his knees up to the side to allow her feet to rest on the grass in between.

"I'm not too heavy, am I?" She knew it was a dumb question since he was six feet of solid muscle, but she asked it anyway.

"No, not at all."

They watched the clouds drift by for a while.

"Rumor…" Mustang began.

"Hmm?" She muttered in acknowledgement.

"Do you…" He turned his head to the side, to stare at the grass, not sure how to ask his next question.

"What?" She asked in a comforting tone, immediately aware of his sorrow. She moved her head to look at him more properly and saw the hint of anguish in his normally smiling eyes.

"Do you ever…" He turned his head to look at her face and was met with his own worried reflection. "Do you ever look at me… like I look at you?"

The questioned stunned Rumor into silence. It just occurred to her that he couldn't tell because of her sunglasses. She also understood now that look of anguish; thinking how he must feel. After seeing it so many times in his eyes, she could no longer remember what it was like before he looked at her that way. She shared his pain, feeling guilty for always looking away, when to see it at all, even if it was only once, was all he wanted.

She chewed at her slightly swollen lips, the result of their lively kissing session. They still tasted like him.

"Yes. Yes, I do look at you "like that"."

"Oh…" He turned his head away again, his voice dead.

Rumor realized even more how much she was hurting him, but what could she do? What if he knew the truth? Would he still be with her? Her selfish want to be with him kept her from telling him her greatest secret.

She reached an arm back to touch his face gently, "Just because you can't see it in my eyes, doesn't change how I feel about you."

He smiled slightly at that, eyes cold as steel, and she felt emboldened.

"I'll make up that fact by returning what is owed by using my other four senses, okay?"

He couldn't help himself, he gazed at her with "that look" and a left sided smile to accompany it. Too tempted by her offer to remain silent.

Turning over on him, Rumor ran a gentle finger down his smooth chest that was revealed by his unbuttoned shirt, and then retraced the same path down his chest bone with her lips.

Roy relaxed and put his hands behind his head as a shiver of pleasure shocked his systems all over again.

She felt the tremor, and paused; she smiled against the muscles of his upper body, and inhaled his engaging scent once more.


	7. Chapter 7 Sharing

"Hey, there cutie!" Mustang greeted Rumor at the gate one afternoon. It was overcast, but neither one noticed.

She giggled at the complement, and he walked strait to her and planted a scrumptious kiss right across her awaiting lips.

Too soon, they parted.

Today, she dressed in the dark brown pants and layered brown T- shirt that Grams had given to her. He had seen the outfit many times before, but complemented her anyway.

"It matches your hair." He said.

She could only blush in return.

He looked at her now, only a ghost of longing to see her eyes remained. She felt that was a good sign, like her making up for it in other ways seemed to be enough for him.

"… Anyway." He broke the silence that lingered, not uncomfortably, in the air. "Hughes wants that rain-check on our double date. He set it up for tomorrow, since its Saturday and Gracia doesn't have to work, and both he and I have a day off… finally." He sighed.

She loved it when he did that. It was a different sigh than what he let out after they had finished a kissing session, but it still sounded divine to her.

"Okay!" She smiled. She had a feeling that tomorrow would be the opportune time to reveal her summer dress she had acquired from the old lady.

"Great!" He caught her contagious smile once again. "What would you like to do today?"

"Spend time with you!" She grinned cleverly.

He closed his eyes and smiled in delight. "Besides that…." He blushed lightly.

"I don't have any other ideas."

His ears rang pleasantly, he was used to it. "I can tell."

Looking to her still grinning face, he thought contentedly, 'She does that a lot.'

"Hmm… I don't know… Let's eat!" Rumor said excitedly.

Chuckling lightly, he answered, "I should have known you'd say that! How about we get some ice cream?"

"Sure!"

They walked to the parlor, hand in hand.

…

Once there, Mustang ordered for the both of them with Rumor's permission.

"I'd like a large Death by Chocolate ice cream in a cone, please."

Roy had changed his clothes before he had even reached the gate today, so he was "less conspicuous."

"When did you change?" She had asked. "Before I left the office. Planning ahead." He had replied.

Now she asked, "Why did you order one? There are two of us."

Mustang stared at the menu a minute longer, deep in thought with a smile on his face. "I know. I thought that maybe we could start sharing."

"Oh, okay!" That kind of thing was still so new to her.

Especially sharing. She had shared more of her life with this dog of the military than anyone before. Man or woman. Though it was still very new, she adapted to it very well.

Getting the cone back, they went to a small table and sat down, Roy in the seat opposite her. He held the cone between them, and took the first lick. With a look to Rumor, he invited her to do the same, wordlessly. She did.

It was the most amazing food she had ever tasted. The chocolate was so rich and creamy in her mouth, and the bits of fudge and chocolate chunks lodged in all around added to the experience even more.

"I don't think you've had this before, do you like it?"

She nodded her head energetically and continued licking away at it, not rushed, but quickly. He pulled it back a few inches out of her reach, glanced at her through his lashes, then closed his alluring grey eyes and licked it again.

Rumor could only stare in wonder, at how careful he was at examining the taste of the treat in his mouth. 'Does he look that sexy when we're kissing?' She wondered dreamily.

Opening his eyes slightly to catch her mouth open slightly (A sign he's learned that is a tell-tale signal that she is gawking at him), he chuckled and moved it towards her again, rotating it so that his tasting was for her pleasure too.

Blushing at the subtle familiarity, she began licking his seconds, if it was possible, this tasted better than the ice cream alone.

They continued to take turns until the ice cream was gone. Roy looked to her and a quiet laugh resounded pleasantly in his chest.

"What?" She blushed, feeling like an idiot for some reason.

He leaned across the table completely (an easy feat for he was so tall) and kissed her and as their cold lips met, her head spun from the feelings he gave her. He commenced to licking/ kissing the access ice cream off from around her lips and chin. She sat stalk still. Surprised at how sloppy she had been and hadn't realized it.

"There, much better!" He smiled tenderly and she couldn't help but laugh at her own clumsiness, and at how she had been rewarded for it!

…

Mustang heard the door bell ring and hurried to it that Saturday morning with his shirt still half unbuttoned.

He whipped the door open.

"Hello?" Roy said, out of breath.

"Hi…." Rumor stood there, blushing and looking down at her stappy heeled feet.

"Whoa…." Mustang looked her up and down, multiple times, Rumor noticed.

"Do… you… like it?" Rumor blushed crimson.

"Uh- hulh…." Roy was panting like a dog now, drooling as he studied her tanned, slender legs, low cut neckline, and the sweet blush that was barely discernable from her dark, sandy skin on her cheeks.

"I- I'm glad…." She blushed even redder as she noticed his shirt was still half unbuttoned.

"Liking it is an understatement! I love it!" Mustang paused, like he was going to say more, but didn't.

There was another unspoken moment of truth.

"H- Here… Le- Let me help you with that." Rumor took a step inside, set her back pack against the hallway wall and closed the door behind her. Then she stepped closer to Mustang and began buttoning up his white shirt. When she closed the second to last, he grabbed her hands in one of his and knew their eyes had connected; he leaned down and kissed her sweetly.

They walked out of the house minutes later, arm in arm. Mustang wore a pewter grey suit coat that hung to his knees, and a pair of navy blue slacks that had his shirt tucked into it, and a pair of brown business shoes to complete the look.

Rumor admired how much style he had, even if he did dress like he was thirty, it looked excellent on him.


	8. Chapter 8 A Home

First, they met at Gracia's to pick up her, Hughes, and the food, then they grabbed a taxi and hit the near country outside of the city limits.

There was a nice, special woodsy area that they hiked through a little before finding a decent sized clearing for their picnic.

Rumor had tripped a couple of times because she was not used to walking in heels, let alone, walking in them and trying to avoid roots and sticks. But each time she was about to meet the ground face first, Roy would catch her by the arm, smile at her blush, and then they would continue on more carefully.

It was a beautiful day. The sun shone brightly and, mixed with perfect company, nothing could beat the combination.

They talked and laughed, joked and smiled.

After eating all the excellent food that Gracia had whipped up, Roy tugged at Rumor's arm for her to follow him while Hughes and Gracia got into a cuddly argument about who was better looking.

Grateful for the relief, she obliged willingly.

Once in the shade of the trees, Rumor stopped and leaned against a thick cedar.

Roy looked at her, passion filled eyes giving away that he had something important to request of her.

"What is it, Second Lieutenant? I know you have something to ask me." She smiled knowingly and Roy only gazed at her deeper.

"Yeah, I do. You've given me something more than I have ever had the right to own. You've traded your freedom and travels for time with me, I haven't forgotten that, so, I want to give you something in return, I hope you'll accept, but if you don't, I understand."

Rumor was curious now. "Okay, what is it you have to give me? You've already given me so much; I don't know what you could possibly have left to offer!"

Smiling, Mustang answered, "I have plenty left to give, but I'll get back to that later. Remember what I said yesterday, about sharing?"

"Yeah…" Rumor didn't see where this was going.

"Well, I would like to share my house with you. It isn't much. It's small, and I don't know how much stuff you have to bring with you, but you don't even have to accept if you don't wa-!"

Rumor sprang into his arms, nearly knocking him off balance but planted kisses on him anyway, anywhere, and everywhere.

"Wow, if I knew it was going to go this well, I would have asked you to move in months ago!"

She smiled and un-wrapped her legs and arms from around him.

"As for what I have to bring with me, she returned to leaning against the tree, he followed and stopped a few feet from her. She looked over her shoulder to where the backpack lay at the corner of the blanket. "That is it."

"Oh." Mustang had expected more, much more. "So… you've been living out of that for… how long? Did you even have a house?"

Rumor shook her head. "Nope. I've been living out of my pack since I was out-casted."

Mustang was stunned beyond words. "WH- WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME? I WOULD HAVE LET YOU MOVE IN RIGHT AWAY!"

"Exactly." Rumor began, relieved to tell him at least one of her few remaining secrets. "I didn't want you to offer your home to me out of pity. I wanted you to ask me on your own, of your own will, and when you were ready to ask it, if it really was one of your desires."

"! …" Mustang sighed. He had nothing to say to that. He could only respect her more for her patience with him, and her bravery.

"Don't look so sad, Second Lieutenant, I'm okay. And now, I'm fantastic, because you've given me a house to go to…" She took a step to him, closing the distance and positioned her hand over his heart, "And a place to call home."

"What good of a home am I if I can't even recognize that you were living on the streets? Or that the only meals you were eating were the once I bought for you?"

Rumor sighed and pressed against him, her hands on his wide chest. "Don't blame yourself. I'm a good actress…."

"More like an outstanding temptress…." He looked down to her and smiled, she smiled back.

After a luscious kiss, Mustang leaned back for a moment and reached into his pocket. Before he pulled it out, he said, "Back to what I was saying before, about having a lot left to give; I have my house, my love, my body, my mind, my soul, and my heart. I thought you should know that you have all of it, whenever you need it."

Rumor fell silent, blushing.

He leaned down and whispered tenderly in her ear, "I love you, Rumor…."

She blushed hotter, that was the first time he had spoken those words aloud.

His deep, sensual voice resounded in her head, repeating those three little words…

Surprised, Rumor returned the words just as adoringly into his neck, "I love you, too."

Tracing his nose along her jaw line slowly, he reached her lips and kissed her passionately, soft and slow; licking her parted lips with tenderness.

She tried mimicking the act and apparently, she wasn't too bad, for he grunted with pleasure and backed her up against the tree, a little roughly, and his hands possessed her hip bones, sending the spot beneath her stomach into frantic, tingling summersaults.

Without thinking, she grinded lightly against him, and used her own hands to pull his torso closer to hers.

"Hmmm…." In the midst of their crazed moment, Mustang pulled away for air, ceasing all movement between them.

Slowly, they regained their breath.

Both blushed violent shades of red.

Mustang began again, "Oh, right, what I have to give you…." He put his hand in his pocket again and brought out a black leather band that could be an improved version of a dog collar. "This is for you, so that even when we aren't together, you will always know how much I love you, and if anything forsaken should happen between us, as long as you wear this, I know you still love me, your loyal canine. Do you accept it?"

A tear of joy escaped Rumor's eyes, "I don't have anything to give you in return…."

"Don't worry about it. You've given up your travels and freedom for me, that is more than enough. More than I deserve. Just please say you'll take it, as a symbol of your ownership over me."

Laughing a little, she took it and asked cleverly, "Isn't it usually the dog who wears the collar, not the owner?"

"Oh… I guess you're right…. Here, I'll wear it then." He held out his hand for it back.

"No, you're already a dog to the state." Mustang looked away, but Rumor guided his face back to hers, "I'll wear it as the symbol of my devotion, and as my leash to you, my love."

He took the collar out of her hands and clasped it gently around her slender neck. He took her into his arms, and buried his face into her hair and neck, holding her as close as he could.

"You are too kind to me, beloved." He kissed her passionately and they shared a long moment. Roy kissed his way to her ear and nibbled on it teasingly for a moment. He heard her giggle and turn slightly away; pressing his lips to the skin beneath her ear, he whispered sweet expressions of endearments into it, as many as he could think of to describe his feelings, when he ran out, it still did not cover the surface, let alone the depth of his love.

She stood there, smiling, fidgeting with happiness and blushing with each vow he spoke to her; they were sacred to her, and somehow she knew they were all true, a secret key to his heart that only she held, and he whispered them relentlessly to her for a long while.

Between vows and pelages of love, he kissed her in a new spot each time, leaving her whole body tingling with delight as he fiddled with her hair, ran his large, gentle hands down her arms, over the curves of her dress, yearning for more after each passing moment….

"Mustang…." She whispered when his low voice had stopped, she had barely noticed, his voice remained clear within her mind, "Mustang, I love you, I love you so much, I could say it forever, and it would never be enough…."

More and more they kissed, sweet and slow, savoring each moment as the last. All of Rumor's senses awakened, from the glimpses of his angelic face, to how his smell, and the cedar's mixed into an aroma that made that spot under her stomach tingle more than what Roy's words alone had done….

"Rumor…." Mustang muttered against her lips, he continued to kiss her through his words, "Rumor…."

"Hmm…?" She murmured against him, her hands held his jacket tightly.

"They're watching…." He continued, slowing down.

"Who?" She mumbled.

"Hughes… and … Gracia…." Still he didn't stop.

Slowly, his words registered. "Oh. My. God!" Rumor pushed against his chest, aiming for an arm's length, but only got a foot, he refused to part any further than that from her, and he won, of course.

Gracia and Hughes were holding hands and stood on the edge of the clearing and woods where they had a plain view of their "Soap Opera" appropriate make-out scene. They giggled, their heads pulled in closer to one another. Gracia's long, light brown hair was tussled slightly in the wind. How perfect they were together.

"H-H H-…" Rumor began, but was too staggered to say anything.

Mustang grasped what she was trying to ask them, "How long have you been standing there?" He barked.

"Oh, not long! Just about the part where you put the collar on her, I think!" He turned to Gracia and said with a wide grin, "That was WAY better than HBO, huh, baby?"

Mustang growled (which, silently, Rumor found extremely sexy), Hughes backed away slowly holding Gracia in front of him and shaking her slowly like a white flag. (Gracia wore a white summer dress for the picnic.)

"Please don't hurt me! You guys really are quite adorable together…!"

A vein throbbed in Mustang's forehead as he pulled out his glove and slipped it on. Clapping her hands to her transmutation circles on her wristbands, Rumor focused on her wish.

Mustang snapped, Hughes gasped and wrapped his arms protectively around Gracia, but nothing happened.

"What the blazes?" Mustang looked at his hand and snapped his fingers repeatedly between each word, "Why… isn't… any… thing… happening?"

Hughes pointed discretely to a spot just behind Mustang, when he looked, he saw Rumor smiling smugly.

"Are you doing this?" Mustang snapped his fingers again and again for her display.

She nodded, still smiling; Hughes breathed a sigh of relief. Rumor dropped her concentration purposefully in mid-snap.

BOOM!

The air exploded a few feet behind Hughes' head and scared not only him, but Mustang as well.

"HOLY FLYING PIGS!" Hughes shouted his astonishment.

Mustang stared at the spot where the air had combusted, and then back at Rumor, who still stood so innocently with her hands behind her back, smiling as well.

"I see, very clever," He began. "You figured out how my ignition glove worked without an explanation from me, so you realized that other than being wet, there was another way for it to be blocked. Instead of using your unique ability to add a concentration of oxygen to the air to aid my reactions like we had joked about before, you reversed the idea and took the oxygen out of the air, specifically, from around my hand. Without the oxygen ignition in my palm, the ignition in my target area is "snuffed" as well. Prevented before happening."

She closed her eyes and widened her grin, she chirped playfully, "Look who's a smart little puppy!"

Growling again, Mustang glared at her, eyes turned to steel. This time, she walked up to him (completely forgetting about Hughes and Gracia again), and put a finger on his bottom lip.

"Growl for me again, my pet…." She blushed lightly at her own boldness, but couldn't help herself.

Mustang smiled avidly at her comment.

Doing as he was told, he bent his knees and while he leaned in closer to her, he drew her nearer. She placed her hands and head against his wide chest and giggled her delight as she both heard and felt his chest rumble with her request, to add to her pleasure; he buried his head, once again into her hair and nuzzled her neck good-naturedly.

Rocking her now, slowly from side to side, both laughing lowly, Hughes decided to interrupt with a loud throat clearing, "Ah-hem!"

Pulling away more slowly this time, they all walked back into the clearing to pack up the picnic stuff, joking and dogging on one another. Mostly it was Mustang versus Hughes, Gracia and Rumor just kind of hung back and watched them debate heatedly about the "appropriate amount of PDA" in one time frame.


	9. Chapter 9 Settling In

After the taxi dropped Hughes and Gracia off at Gracia's house, they had said their farewells to them and Mustang and Rumor saved some money by walking the rest of the way home, it wasn't too far, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder.

Arriving at the front step, Rumor paused.

"What's wrong?" He asked her.

She bit her lip nervously, and then poured out all at once, "It's just that, I've never lived with anyone before. The closest was back in my village, up until I was ten, I lived in a little building, an orphanage kind of thing and we all slept in itchy, scratchy, springy beds that were very uncomfortable and…!" Roy's lips met hers, stopping her mid-rant.

"You won't be sleeping in anything like that, you haven't seen my house past the entry way, let me show you…." Lightly, he put his hand on the small of her back just underneath the bottom of her backpack, and guided her up the steps to her new home.

Once past the plain gray entry way, the house was quite stunning, needing a woman's touch, of course, but nice none-the-less.

In his living room he had one leather, cushy loveseat, accompanied with a three person matching couch; an end table at each end of the pairs of furniture and a TV sitting on a small roller stand with a cabinet beneath it.

There was a small kitchen with built-in cabinet's and shelves. A few appliances set atop the counter; a toaster, a microwave, a blender, a coffee pot, and an automatic can opener. There was obviously a sink, a fridge, a dishwasher, and a stovetop oven.

The bathroom was a different color than the rest of the house (which was a light shade of gray); it was a deep, cleansing blue that reminded her of the ocean. Other than the color, it had the necessities; A sink, a toilet, a linen closet, and a Jacuzzi sized bathtub. Lastly, a stand-up shower in one corner.

But the bedroom was the most exquisite room of all. Rumor could tell that he had made the latest changes to this room. Apparently (though he would never admit it), he had been planning on asking her to move in with him for some time for there was an empty paint bucket in the corner.

The walls were a deep forest green, the same shade that was on the tank top she had worn the first time they had met, and the overhead light was a soft, natural light that cast a not too bright light around the comfy room.

"I figured the light would be easier on your eyes than those god-forsaken fluorescents." He said when he noticed her head tilted back to look at it.

"You're so thoughtful!" She took his left hand and held it close to her in her own. She kissed the fingers that easily poked out from between her own hands.

She looked strait ahead now and saw the most beautiful piece of artwork she'd ever seen. "Do you mind?" She gestured to the painting above the head board.

"It's your home too." He motioned with his right hand towards the canvas.

Excited about the way it sounded on his tongue, she released her hold and in one motion, jumped over the foot board and hopped lightly onto the mattress. Crossing it in a few steps, she examined the art close-up.

"Wow, great structure and strokes. I like the way the shades of green collide here to make the shadows, and the use of color is absolutely exquisite! No doubt this was an amazing artist at work here!" Rumor studied it, and then took a step back so she stood in the middle of the bed to get the best overall view of it. She couldn't quite make out a name, just an H.

"It was inspired by you." Mustang said, standing to the side of the double bed. He no longer had on his coat, or had his shirt buttoned to the top, so again, his shirt was half undone, exposing his muscular chest. "I was inspired by the way you described your travels, so one day, on my way to work, I stopped in one of the peddler's shops downtown, and when I saw this, with the tall grass, and the forest, and the sky, I couldn't help myself; I had to buy it. Do you like it?"

She looked at him sincerely and said carefully, so he could hear what her eyes were trying to say, "I do, I really, really love it."

Catching the senses extent, he replied, "Good, I'm so glad."

For a moment, they stood there, eyes locked.

Abruptly, he grabbed her arm and yanked her down so she no longer stood on the bed, but sat with her legs under her. Still holding her wrist, he leaned over the edge of the bed and kissed her deeply. She put her free hand on the back of his neck; in return, he put his unoccupied hand on the top of her thigh, right beneath where her dress stopped. She shivered with pleasure at his touch. Slowly, he eased her back onto the bed, and blanketed her with himself.

It was only after she had his shirt all unbuttoned, and his hand had unzipped the back of her dress so it now rested on the skin of the small of her back did she realize where this was going.

"Um… Roy…" She stopped moving all together, which he responded to and ceased as well.

"Hmm? What is it, my love?" He asked. His luscious grey eyes stared at her intently.

"It's just that…" She paused, feeling stupid. He encouraged her to go on. "It's just that, I'm no where near ready for THAT…." He knew what she implied.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" He apologized sincerely, "I totally lost it and got carried away. I'm sorry."

"No, its okay, I should apologize. I let it get out of hand." Rumor apologized back.

"But it was me!"

"No, it was me!"

"But-!"

"No-!"

"…!" They both paused, and then sighed. "This is getting us nowhere."

"Yeah, let's just say we were both wrong." Rumor compromised.

"Okay. But I still think…!"

"So do I, so let's just forget about it!" Rumor negotiated again. He looked down, he sat on the edge of the bed, no longer looking, nor touching her. She noticed his shirt was still undone and hanging around him gently. Scooting closer to his slouched figure, she started at his neck, then pushed her hands gently, slowly, and purposefully down over his broad, well-developed chest; this time it was his turn to shudder with pleasure. "I don't mind fooling around though…."

"Rumor…" Mustang began, "You really shouldn't tempt me so…."

"It's okay, I doubt we'll go so far again until we are both ready," Rumor began sliding his shirt off until he was freed from it. Tracing the muscle lines in his shoulder's and back, she kissed a line down his neck, and over his shoulder. "Now, Second Lieutenant, technically, we no longer need to consider PDA violations…."

He looked to her half-masked face, "So, true."

They resumed their bout in the forest against the cedar, this time keeping their drawn lines un-crossed.

…

Rumor had gone out grocery shopping one afternoon, and to her surprise, Roy had beaten her home.

"Did they let you off early today?" Rumor put the groceries on the counter then walked back into the living room.

He called over his shoulder without looking away from the cops type show on the television, "Yeah."

Not saying anything else, she watched him as he continued to watch the pointless show.

There was something that Rumor had wanted to do since meeting the Lieutenant, sneaking up behind him, she launched towards his back hands outstretched, "HHHAAAA!"

"AHHH!" Mustang shouted in reply, but could not escape… the head rubbing…. "What… are… you… doing?"

He asked her, confused, as she continued scruffing his hair playfully.

"I'm sorry, but it's your own fault! You're hair is just so soft! I couldn't resist!" She marveled at the perfection beneath her sensitive fingertips. His hair was just the right thickness (not too thick or too thin), the right amount of slick and smoothness (not too puffy, but when messed, fell back into the careful array of chaos) and just so… enticing all together!

Stopping, he now looked back at her standing behind the couch he sat on, "You are a weird one, all right!"

She laughed, "Yeah, but you love me for it!"

"Humph, you bet I do!" Crawling over the back of the couch like a little kid, he chased her around the house playfully, she ran away, laughing with joy, he did too. He caught her round the middle after he cornered her in the kitchen and she had tried to escape. "GOTCHA!"

They laughed even harder, both flushed and from the exercise, and their closeness.

Looking up now, Rumor cocked her head to the side and Roy asked her what she was thinking about.

"Your hair..." She replied absently, thinking.

"What's wrong with it?" He asked rolling his eyes up to see what she was looking at. But he couldn't see his own hair, it wasn't long enough.

"…Nothing…." Again, her voice gave away her deep thoughts.

"What?" He was getting slightly frustrated.

"It's just, I think your hair might look cuter than it does now if you let it grow out a little…." She didn't say it as an insult, simply an observation.

"Really?" He tugged at a strand from his forehead, thinking about it too. He hadn't really cared what his hair looked like, but if she thought she might like it….

"Yeah, but I love it just as it is…." She lowered her voice and brought her focus back to him, she looked at him "that way" and hoped beyond hope that he could feel the longing in her gaze, though she doubted it. 'Will I ever have the courage to show him my forbidden eyes? I doubt it, I bet even he is prejudice against….'


	10. Chapter 10 Easy Days

Second Lieutenant Roy Mustang came home from Central Headquarters at eight to a freshly cooked meal by his love. Rumor stood in the kitchen licking the spoon free of their desert; chocolate chip cookies.

Instinctively knowing her eyes were closed and that she was lost in the delight that the sweet dough brought on her, he snuck up quietly, Officer's jacket removed, sleeves partly rolled up, and shirt half done up (just as she preferred it) and pushed against the opposite side with his own tongue, then proceeded to lick her sweetened lips gently before kissing her playfully.

They parted, slightly out of breath, his arms remained secured around her waist, while she still held the wooden spoon with one hand, and the other had naturally taken root to his chest.

"Who needs alcohol when I have you?" She said out loud, dizzied from the affect he still held over her.

He chuckled at that, "Dinner smells wonderful honey." He tried the new endearment. She didn't object; actually, she beamed brightly, so he thought that to be an okay term to call her.

"Ready in ten minutes, sweetheart!" She sang.

His previous attempts had been: sugar, baby, cutie, babe, hon, sweetheart, cupcake, dear, and toots. She only objected to cupcake, and refused to talk to him for the following hour after he tried 'toots'. It was a clear 'HELL NO!' to that idiom. So he'd tabooed that one for good. She seemed to take a real liking to 'sweetheart' and 'honey' though.

After diner, they sat on the love seat, her legs over his lap. Apparently, that wasn't close enough for Mustang.

Some boring show was on, so instead of pretending to pay attention, he took her wrists, and in one motion, pulled her to sit on his lap squarely, her legs to each side of his. Once she was there, he looked up slightly into her surprised face; or rather, at her slightly open, unbelieving mouth. Releasing his right hand, he reached up and removed her sunglasses. Her eyes had closed as soon as she realized what he was going to do. Keeping them shut lightly, to not give away her desperate want to keep them closed, she listened as he set them on the end table.

"Let me see your eyes…" He whispered, instead, she leaned down to kiss him. Knowing where his lips would be, she didn't miss. Once she started, he loosened up and removed his left handed grip as well to explore her curves. He could never get enough of her.

Using his distraction to her advantage, she slipped her tongue between his lips and tasted him as he had so many times to her. She smiled against him as she felt that all-too familiar quivering radiate from his body's core beneath her. She moved her hands to his face, down his neck, to his chest, further down, she felt for the buttons on his shirt. Finding them, she undid them, one at a time until his whole chest was exposed for her investigating pleasure.

Another tremor rushed through him and he growled a bit in pleasure. It was such an incredible sound.

His hands rubbed her back slowly the whole time, farther and farther down they came. Finding the edge of her tank top, he paused, and then he slipped his hand underneath to the soft skin of her hips and stomach. The idea of possessing a new piece of her skin thrilled him. She didn't object, but, deciding not to push it, he slowly retreated to the okayed boundary on her thigh.

On and on, they kissed, sometimes playful, sometimes serious, but never taken for granted. Each kiss was savored as the last.

Never satisfied, but their thirst for one another quenched temporarily, they parted their lips, but remained close, discreetly, Rumor had replaced her shades before Mustang could catch her. He was still too "drunken" on her affection to remember that his original intention of all this was to see what lie beneath the tinted lens.

"It's getting late." He mumbled, looking to the old hand clock on the wall above the television.

"Yeah." Rumor agreed.

11:30 p.m.

Mustang hesitated, then smiled at her coyly, "Want to go to bed?"

She returned, knowing he meant the innocent way, "Yeah." She raised her eye brows twice, in an attempt to be suave.

Laughing, they went to the room holding hands.

She changed into her pajama's (acquired as a 'homecoming' gift from Mustang the day after she moved in) in the bathroom. When she turned to the bedroom, she walked in and he was only in his bottoms. He turned to her, his button up top held in hand and he smiled.

"What to give me a hand?" He said with her favorite left slanted smile on his face.

"Uh, sure." Walking to him, she took the night shirt and slipped it on each of his arms as he held them out and bent them in turn. Standing in front of him now, she fumbled nervously as she did the buttons up.

He laughed kindly, "I don't know why you're shaking so badly buttoning it _up_! You have no reservations about buttoning it _down_!"

Blushing redder she replied harshly, her voice cracking, "Shut up!"

He took her trembling hands in both of his and looked at her intently, his shirt left half undone. "Don't worry about it. I'm just joking. I actually prefer my shirt half undone, don't you agree?"

Nodding uselessly, he stopped her with a kiss. "Let's go to sleep."

Crawling into bed first, Rumor entered the soft comfort of the covers right after.

She huddled in a ball, still embarrassed with the covers up to her nose. Feeling uncomfortable, she tried a crack at a joke, "You know, I'm not sure why you still bother with that shirt… most nights its off before we fall asleep anyway…."

His soft chuckle did little to soothe her at the moment as he replied, "Well that's true, but perhaps I still wear it to bed because I love when you take it off me before sleep." She knew he'd have winked on the last word to finish with his playful seduction.

However, Rumor let silence stretch between them.

Though this wasn't the first time sharing the bed. They had since the day she moved in. But tonight was different; she had actually helped him dress for the night. It was a new experience, and she wasn't handling it well, though she loved it, it was still scary for her. She always feared going too far.

Sensing her discomfort, Mustang put his arm over her and pulled her back close to his front. Her body fit perfectly with his and he rested his head on the side of her neck and face, noticing her glasses still on, even in the dark, he shifted his hand from the skin of her bare shoulder and arm to gently remove her glasses and set them on her night table. She didn't mind. It was dark, and even she couldn't see anything… only feel.

Noticing her body relax more and more beside him, he whispered softly, "Sweet dreams, Rumor, my love."

Smiling she murmured drowsily as lethargy took over, "G'Night… sweet dreams… love… you…."

"I love you, too…."

…

Those were the easiest days, the ones that would stick with both of them, through the best… and the worst.


	11. Chapter 11 The Proposal

The days went by, bright and steady. Things were finally as they should be within the universe of Second Lieutenant Roy Mustang and his beloved girlfriend, Rumor.

But things couldn't always be that pleasant….

…

Walking through the front door, Mustang saw his nearly year long girlfriend lying on the couch, sleeping.

He closed the door softly and removed his long black coat, Officers jacket, and boots quietly, so he didn't disturb her. Checking his pocket, he smiled in satisfaction.

Without hesitation, he walked and knelt down beside the couch to watch her sleep, inches from her. Mustang took her hand in his. Long moments passed and he took comfort in studying her flawless tanned skin, and sleeping face. Briefly smiling at the worn leather band around her neck. Her glasses were slightly askew from lying on the side of her head, so one of her closed eyes was unveiled to him. He took what he saw in quickly and memorized every lash as it fell perfectly over her cheeks.

Instinct alerted her to a new presence in the house, noticing the hand in hers; she knew it to be Mustang's. Pushing her glasses properly onto her face, she then opened her eyes to meet Mustang's beautiful face, close but not too close to hers.

"Hey there, hot stuff…." She said drowsily.

He was impressed that she could even make a pun so quickly after waking.

"Hey…." He kept his left hand secured around something in his left pocket.

Giving her some space, Mustang watched as she stretched gracefully, hands high over head, each muscle tensed, and then slowly relaxed each one individually to obtain maximum mobility before moving.

She was perfect for him, the one.

…

For Mustang, the evening passed extremely slowly. He had something important to ask Rumor, but whenever he had tried to express it, he always froze up and said something completely off topic. He knew she was getting suspicious, but he couldn't do it. Only be thankful that she was being patient with his irrationality.

Rumor flipped lazily through the channels. There was never anything on. Finally, she stopped on "The Pocketbook."

Mustang couldn't take it any longer.

"Rumor…" Mustang began.

"…Yeah, what is it?"

He looked to her, froze up yet again, and said roughly, standing up, "I'm going out!"

"Okay… be careful…." He continued walking towards the door and pulled on his black coat and shoes, "… I love you!"

Stopping at that, he turned to look at her, coal grey eyes softening not only his eyes, but everything inside, "I love you, too." He walked out the door.

Rumor turned back to the chick flick to her favorite part when the main guy takes his love into his arms and says, "It's still not over!" and they have a huge make out/ sex scene even though she is engaged to another man….

Blushing at the scene, knowing that she and Roy had come close to the same scenario (without the engagement to another man part, of course), she then sighed. '… I wonder what's eating at him? He's been on edge for quite some time now…. Hmm… I guess he'll tell me when he's ready….'

…

Returning, Roy had a bouquet of flowers in his hand, more specifically, a bouquet of red roses; the flower of love, the color of passion.

"Wow! Those are gorgeous!" Rumor exclaimed, the moment he walked through the door with them.

"They are for you." Mustang could only stare at his love.

"Thank you! I'll get them in some water now!" She dashed off to the kitchen, when she returned he took her into his arms and kissed her deeply. They both relaxed and enjoyed the kiss thoroughly.

Parting, Mustang knelt down on one knee, his night walk had been exactly what he needed to unwind, get the courage up, and think clearly without the stress of work or the distraction of Rumor.

"Rumor, we've been together for almost a year now, but I'm sure, without a doubt that I am irrevocably in love with you. Will you marry me?" Roy looked to her, eyes expectant; the ring held to her in both his hands.

"Ask me when I'm nineteen." She turned her head away from him and the little ring to stare at the light grey walls.

"What? Are you serious?" Mustang couldn't believe what he just heard.

"Yeah, I'm serious." Her voice was dull, blank. No emotion.

"But… why wait to accept it then? It's only a few weeks away and I wasn't planning on getting married TOMARROW or anything like that?" Mustang argued with her, he felt she was being completely unreasonable.

"So what?" Her voice remained in a monotone.

"So what? You have got to be kidding me? Please tell me you're joking. Smile and tell me this is all a joke and that you really will marry me!" Mustang pleaded now, still on his knee, the ring no longer held up, but limp in his hand.

"I'm sorry."

He stood now and moved closer to her in the cramped space of the hallway. She was backed against the wall and Roy slammed a fist to the side of her where she still tried to stare away from him, he leaned into his elbow and fist against the wall. "That's… all… you can say?" He struggled to form words.

"I'm sorry…." There was a note of distress in her voice.

"Stop it! Just stop it! If you don't want to marry me, that's fine, but just say so! Don't just jerk me around!" Mustang's voice cracked with emotion.

Rumor's heart jerked at his words. "I'm sorry…. You haven't even seen my eyes yet…."

"And why do you think that is? You won't let me! As close as we are, you still keep things from me, don't you? I don't know where you came from, who your 'people' are, or even a simple thing as to what your eyes look like! I know you have them; it isn't like you're running into walls or trees on a regular basis! You can see; you just don't let ME see! You won't let me in that far! Why? Tell me why!" His eyes were pained and stared at the space above Rumor's forehead, then back down into his own reflection in her glasses.

"I… can't…." That same dead tone.

"DAMMIT!" He slammed his fist even harder into the wall beside her head.

"…"

"Say something… anything… except that you're sorry…." Mustang's voice was even more pained than before.

"… I love you…."

"GREAT! Just frickin' great! You love me, but you won't marry me! That makes all the sense in the whole frickin' world!" Mustang's humorless sarcasm cut through Rumor's wall of emotionless-ness.

"I do want to marry you! Okay! I do! I want to marry you, and love you and have babies with you and grow old with you and die with you! I DO! I DO! I DO! But I can't for reasons that you can't begin to understand! So just leave me alone for awhile!" Mustang saw a tear run down her cheek and onto her shirt.

He didn't move. He left his fist planted an inch in the drywall and stood still as if carved out of the steel his eyes had turned into. She ran away, past his right arm that had been left down through the ordeal.

The bathroom door shut.

Still Roy stood there, unmoving.

Her words slowly began to sink in. Were there things that she kept from him in fear of him not loving her anymore? How could she think that anything that she said to him now could change his feelings about her? Did she really mean what she said, about loving him so much that she did want to marry him, but for reasons she couldn't explain… can't explain?

Finally, he breathed in a deep, sharp breath that cut at his lungs. He was tense. This was their first major fight, and he had a feeling he lost, big time. What could he do now?


	12. Chapter 12 Promotion

Rumor sat on the bathroom floor next to the Jacuzzi tub with a box of tissues.

What was she thinking, blowing up like that? How could she be so cruel to the one person who had ever treated her with so much respect and kindness? That was their first major fight, and she felt she lost. What could she do to make it up to him?

There came a light rapping at the door; then a click of the lock being undone. Rumor opened the door to him, he was surprised at that.

"I thought you would never want to see my face again…." Mustang hung his head.

"If I ever wanted that, that would be the day I died." Rumor was serious and once again had emotion.

He sighed from the stress filled day.

"I'm sorry for pushing you. I should have just shut up and accepted your answer quietly without making a fuss." Mustang apologized.

Rumor's mouth twitched unwillingly, "wow, a man being the first to apologize? What alternate dimension did I step into?"

He smirked, "Yeah, well, I was wrong and I'm man enough to admit it."

"No, I was. I totally freaked when you asked me to marry you, I'm sorry too."

"Does this mean…"

"No." She cut him off, "No, I won't marry you, yet. I'm perfectly happy with the way things are. There are still some things that I can't tell you, and until I can, I can never be your wife. My decision has nothing to do with the way I feel about you. I can't marry you because there are parts of myself that I can't accept, and until I accept them, I can't expect you to accept them. So… will you wait for me? Until that day comes when I can acknowledge those parts of me and come into your arms with no secrets? I don't know when that day will be, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next year, but when that time comes when I can accept them, will you be waiting?"

Mustang looked to her, he had always thought of her as not a child, but not a woman either, which is probably why he struggled to keep his emotions in check; because sometimes he was reluctant to love the child part of her, yet yearned for her womanhood at the same time. It hadn't been an easy struggle for him, but he'd managed so far. The thought had never crossed his mind that there could be another part of her that she struggled with. Now, it seemed so obvious that her eyes and religion were related and part of that constant struggle. She loved him enough to want to save him from her past, a past she can't save herself from, that is why she hid her struggle beneath tinted sunglasses.

"Yes, my love, I will wait for you until that day comes, weather it be tomorrow, or in a hundred years, I will wait."

She took comfort in Mustang's honest words and cuddled into his chest. He held her there for as long as she needed. A strange dripping sound entered Rumor's thoughts.

"Roy?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you hear… dripping?" Rumor looked to his left hand and saw a small pool of blood congregating on the linoleum of the bathroom floor. "Oh my God! You're bleeding!"

She grabbed some of her non-used tissues and dabbed delicately at the scraps in his knuckles. He flinched as a piece of the disposable cloth stuck to the raw skin.

Throwing the tissues away, she took his hand more gently and brought it to her mouth where she began to carefully lick and suck at the bright red blood all over his knuckles and hand. Mustang's tension eased up at the act. Immediately, the pain began to subside.

Once she was confident that the bleeding had ceased, she got out a roll of tape and gauze and bandaged up his hand well.

"There, that ought to do it!" Pleased with herself, she stood back and beamed at her handiwork. She was rewarded with a kiss.

…

The next day Rumor was waiting for Mustang at the gate, something she hadn't done in a while.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise!" Roy greeted her good naturedly. Things had calmed down after last night. There were no outstanding grudges. Things were back to as they should be; perhaps better because of their new-found feelings and acceptance towards one another.

"Here, this is for you." Rumor held out a page she had torn from her sketch book. It was of many things: a boy on the street with his dog, a squirrel in the park, a couple at a table, the roses from yesterday and his pocket watch.

"Thank you." He said, truly grateful for the token.

"Yeah, it's nothing much. I was bored and felt like drawing something, so I did!" Rumor beamed.

Mustang smiled at her. She brought the only glimmer of cheer to his less than perfect day.

…

Once back at their house, Mustang decided to be upfront about what had happened that day.

"I'm going off to war." He stated matter-of-factly, without the proper emotion.

"What?"

He nodded. "I've been promoted to Lieutenant Major. There's been an uprising in the desert and I've been called to go."

Rumor didn't know what to say. "… How long will you be gone?"

"I don't know."

"Why were you picked?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you know anything?" She cried aloud, furious now.

"It isn't a dog's place to question the master. He commands I go, I go."

"And what will I do while you are away?" Rumor was on the verge of crying again.

"Hughes isn't going anywhere, and neither is Gracia. I'm sure they will keep you company." Mustang couldn't look at her, it hurt too much.

Looking towards him, he was looking away. She caught the stripes on the top of his Officers coat. Before, they had just been plain and stripped his rank; now, there was a single gold star attached to it.

"Sound's like you skipped a few ranks, huh?"

"Yeah. All they told me is that my promotion was long overdue, so to make up for it, they bumped me up a few levels…."

"To go to war…."

"Yeah…."

There was a silence that filled the room.

"Where are you going?"

"To Ishbal. That is where the uprising is."

Rumor's heart stopped.

Roy immediately noticed her abrupt change in posture and cease of movement.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you moving? Rumor!" Mustang moved to the couch and took her into his arms, quickly snapped out of his dead-demeanor.

"I- I'm okay… I guess this is all a little… sudden. I'm okay now."

Lieutenant Major Roy Mustang looked at her sincerely. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. When do you leave?"

"… Tomorrow." He was quickly turned to dead toned.

"TOMORROW? We don't even get to say goodbye!" Rumor's eyes spilled tears now; they ran down, over her dark cheeks. Mustang wiped them away gently with his thumb, the rest of his hand rested on her face.

"Don't cry, my love. I will return to you." Mustang brushed the black of the leather collar lightly, "I promise."

…

That following day, Rumor walked Lieutenant Major Roy Mustang to the gate of Central Headquarters. Their night had been long, neither wanting sleep, yet neither could bring themselves into the mood for other "night time activities", so they settled for holding each other close, exchanging words of love all night and into the early morning hours.

"I love you…." Rumor whispered lovingly into his ear, she took in his woodsy smell one more time.

He had heard her repeat those words over and over to him, all night long; still, he did not tire of hearing them. "I love you too. I always will." He alleged tenderly into her hair and lips all over again.

A whistle blew in the distance; he leaned away from her and placed his soldier's hat on his head, "the master calls." He turned his back and didn't look back after her, afraid that he would never be able to turn again on his call of duty if he did.

Tears prickled his eyes and hung on his lashes, but as soon as the brass came into focus again, they were gone along with everything that mattered to him. It was all with Rumor, all that walked through that gate was the shell of a man with exceptional talent for flame alchemy. He would never be whole again until he held her in his arms.

She watched him go, when he was out of sight, she sprinted back to their house. She grabbed her backpack and bolted out the door locking everything up behind her.

Rumor was about to run past the old woman's shop when a nagging feeling urged her to stop, so she did. Tearing out another page from her newly bought sketchbook, she wrote a letter to the old woman, explaining briefly what had transpired and what she planned to do. With a promise to return and visit, she dropped the letter in the mailbox and headed east… to Ishbal.


	13. Chapter 13 The War

The Iron-blood Alchemist, the Strong-arm Alchemist, the Crimson Alchemist and the Flame Alchemist destroyed any resistance and defense the Ishbalan's put up. Nothing could come close to touching them, for they had the most powerful aids in alchemy, even if they were not a completed replica, they held enough supremacy to do what the military had intended for them.

The soldiers rushed into the inferno and nearly destroyed the city of Ishbal to look for anyone who had survived, and kill them. It didn't matter if they were a man, a woman, or a child. If they were Ishbalan, kill them; that was the order.

Entering a house, the Flame Alchemist cornered an Ishbalan civilian. Fingers posed. They stared at each other, both with that same look of horror and fear in their eyes, neither moved. The man had brown hair and dark skin, the Flame Alchemist hesitated and continued to stare in horror. He saw his love in the man, the skin, the hair; all but the eyes reminded him of his promise, of his safe return to her. The man pulled up the gun and closed his eyes to fire, the Flame Alchemist snapped.

…

Rumor moved further and further east but always came upon the same scene; ruble and charred ground where there once had been buildings and gardens. The military moved strategically east, but she could never gain any ground on them. Looking back at her map, she had a big red "X" over each Ishbalan city that there had been, that was no more. The capital, Ishbal City, was next.

She figured that the military would take the winding roads through the mountains, Rumor, decided to go over them. She knew of a secret passage that was easier than the road, but had the shortest distance, she was confident she could at least meet the military in Ishbal City, she was just pained at the thought of not being able to stop them… him….

…

The Flame Alchemist immerged from the stone house and looked around. He no longer hesitated, he snap-blasted his way through the already burning downtown. He went to snap again, but nothing happen. The inferno was all around.

The wind picked up, and the blaze grew hotter. Knowing what was going on, Flame turned around, he was not alone like he thought he had been.

There, on top of the house he had just exited, stood someone not of the military. Dressed in an alternate fashion of the locals and a sand colored wrap over the head and covered the face.

Flame brought his fingers up to snap, he did, but it didn't work.

"Who are you?" He called above the roar of the fire all around, his voice full of the authority of a high ranking officer of the military.

"Are you too shaken up from killing that you didn't notice?" An all-too familiar voice called out from beneath the drapes.

'I recognize that voice! But how could it be?'

"RUMOR?" He called out, disbelieving.

"Yes, it's me, Flame Alchemist!" She spoke with contempt, rage erupted from her, "HOW COULD YOU? HOW COULD YOU MURDER THESE PEACEFUL PEOPLE? I WAS RAISED BY THEM! THEY ARE NOT REBELS! AND IF THEY DID REBEL, IT WAS BECAUSE THE MILITARY PUSHED THEM TOO FAR! NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!"

"Rumor!" He cried out, "These are your people? You're an Ishbalan?"

She jumped off the roof to stand in front of him within the blink of an eye, the flames whipped closer, brighter and hotter. Whipping off the wrap, it was consumed immediately by the inferno.

Standing in front of him in the clothes she had been wearing the day they met; the green cloth with her symbol upon it whirled wildly around her.

Now, she removed her sunglasses. The light of the flames all around danced in her blood red eyes. Mustang took a half a step backwards.

She got up in his face and asked him in a deathly tone, more demon than human. "Are you going to kill me too?"

Mustang was speechless. 'So this is what she felt the need to hide her eyes from society with tinted sunglasses; society as a whole had never accepted Ishbalans. But why did she not tell me?'

"No, I'm not going to kill you." His voice deprived of emotion.

"Why not?" She was fierce.

"Because, I love you." He whispered into the raging fires.

"LIAR!" Rumor bellowed in his face. "You lie! You lie! Why would someone ever love me? No one could ever accept me for who I am because of what I am! I didn't choose this, you know! I didn't choose this…!" She cradled herself in her own arms; tears came to her wide, wild red eyes.

"I know, I know, sweet heart." Mustang moved to take her into his arms, but she slapped away his hands, and backed up quickly to at least fifteen feet before stopping, nearly in the mouth of the hellish flames.

"No! Don't come near me! Don't touch me! All you're trying to do is to get me to feel safe enough so I will give oxygen back to your gloves so you can kill me along with the rest of the 'Rebels'", she spat. "Well I won't fall for it!"

She turned and ran into the blaze, snuffing out a path for her with alchemy. Mustang tried to follow, but as soon as she had crossed the fire returned as she increased the oxygen of the air, blocking him from her by his own alchemic element.

He slumped against a clay cottage, praying for this inferno to end his life, he snapped, nothing. However the blaze never reached him. In time, they died down, and in more time, the three other state alchemists found him instead. Covered in soot and ash from head to toe, he must have been nearly unrecognizable.

"Come, Lieutenant Major, the furor awaits your return." The Strongarm Alchemist extended a hand to his fellow, the other two continued on with pointless destruction. Everything was already gone, including his heart.

…

That next day, the Flame Alchemist was ordered to execute two doctors who took anyone as their patients. He did. He shot them, watched as they clung to a blood spattered picture of a young little girl with blonde hair and a bandanna.

Anguish pierced the Flame. He imagined Rumor as the girl and it was his blood on her wood frame. He held the gun to his head, just as he was about to pull the trigger, the Crystal Alchemist, the one who had developed the mock Philosophers' stones, stopped him.

"Don't do that. You're too good a man to let it end that way."

"It doesn't matter anymore." All emotion void from the inside out.

"Yes it does, you have a women that you need to patch things up with. I had a wife myself, once." The doctor cooed into the young man's un-hearing ear.

"There isn't a patch large enough to keep me, let alone US together. I've lost her." Flame's charcoal grey eyes glossed over with grief as he talked to someone else.

"She'll come around. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next year, but at sometime, she will come around, if she loves you like you both know she does, she will."

He said nearly the same as she had when she declined marrying him what seemed like only yesterday.

She declined, because she was Ishbalan by birth, cast away or not, she couldn't change her eyes, or what she really was. His words gave him a little strength.

He nodded, still numb.

"Good," Crystal said, thinking. "Hey, if I escape, will you cover for me? I made a mistake letting the government have the mock-stones, so will you let me go, with all my research?"

"… yeah." Flame nodded again; half wishing he could go with him.

"Thank you. I owe you one."

And so he left; the smartest one of all.


	14. Chapter 14 The Teacher

Rumor ran west as fast as she could, far away from the eastern rebellion sites. Her alchemy cleared the air in front of her and allowed her to take in extra oxygen for breathing; this was one of her specialties as an air alchemist, she could run faster and more efficiently than normal humans.

Stopping in a small village, hardly winded, she decided she needed some food. She had taken what money she had saved from her time with HIM and bought herself something to eat, and something for the road. She wondered where she would go.

Walking out of the diner, she munched contently and headed further westward, now walking normally.

Catching a familiar scent on the wind, she headed north for about twenty miles before staring in wonder. She had found that river. The one she had so similarly stumbled upon earlier in her life; her life before _him_.

She followed its winding path south and west, knowing where it would end, but not wishing to go that far.

Her prayers were answered. About half the distance between the little village at the end of the creek and where she started, she stumbled upon someone.

"Hello." Rumor greeted, not unkindly, but not with too much enthusiasm.

"Hello, there stranger." The man greeted back, in the same fashion.

They stared at one another, long and hard. Suddenly it dawned on each of them at the same time.

"Wait! Aren't you-!" They both started; he chuckled, her lips upturned slightly, and then said simultaneously, "You can go! Oh, shoot, no! Ha haha ha!"

Rumor's flash of humor died quickly. "Please, sir. What were you going to say?"

"I think you know, you said it too!" He caught on that her smile was spent for a reason he didn't know. "Anyway, I was just going to say that I think we've met before. Is that right?"

"Yeah, it was a few years ago now. I was traveling and passed you onto the way to the village up ahead. We didn't talk, but I recall your face."

"Yes, yes, I remember that too." He smiled kindly.

He was a medium sized man. Bulky with aged muscle, long golden blonde hair pulled back in a pony tail, a carefully tamed beard, and kind eyes behind clear spectacles. He was dressed in a brown suit with a matching hat and shoes, and a faded yellow turtle neck type shirt underneath. An old leather suitcase sat close by him as he leaned against his rock.

"You were so young then, you have grown fondly." He smiled at her like she imagined a father would to his only daughter. "I never had a girl…." His voice trailed off in response to her thought, it was almost as if he knew what she had been thinking.

"Oh?" She was startled, but responded anyway.

"Yes, I've had boys. I have two living in the village up there, you know." He spoke almost to himself. He stared off into the distance towards the cliff tops. "The oldest is like myself; fair hair and eyes. He is 4; the younger resembles his mother with light brown hair and eyes; he is 3 this year."

Rumor thought how lucky he was, to compare his children to himself and his wife. She never had anyone to chat with about such trivial things. "I guess you'll be returning to them, huh?"

"No." He stopped, his voice strained with emotion. "I can't go back to them. There are reasons that are far too complicated to explain."

She stared into the distance as he did. "I understand."

He looked to her, curiously. "You do?"

"Yes." She met his wise eyes. "There is something about me and my past that I can't face and I had to leave the only man I ever loved for fear of rejection from him. Is that why you left your boys? Fear of their rejection?"

Surprise transformed his prematurely aged face. "…yes. Yes, that is why. I have a… condition… that I couldn't bear if they saw and rejected me for."

Her eyes glazed over, though she stared at him, she did not see him. "I'm Rumor."

"Hohenheim. Pleased to meet you, Rumor."

She nodded in response. She had nothing to lose, so, walking to him, she sat down atop his suitcase and dropped her pack next to his valise.

Taking a hand, she removed her glasses and looked into Hohenheim's fair, golden eyes.

He peered back, and then nodded his head in wise understanding. "I see. You are Ishbalan. I know now why you have hidden those eyes behind tinted lenses for all these years, especially during these troubled times. That's why you left him." He didn't ask, he stated.

Rumor was half surprised by his calm take to her being, then again, unsurprised. She replaced her glasses and continued to stare at him.

Hohenheim contented himself with watching the fish swim and jump through the stream's surface.

"I'm not only Ishbalan." Rumor began.

"No?"

"Nope. I'm also an alchemist."

Hohenheim turned his glittering gaze back to her calmly, "Show me."

She complied, ready, and clapped her hands to her wrists.

Focusing on her desire, she sent swirls of air around a King Fisher as it broke the surface of the water and brought it over land; clenching her fists, the wind did her bidding by chopping the Fisher into sectioned bits, cook ready.

"Impressive." Hohenheim reached out to the place where the bits fell, perfectly six inches away from his business shoes. He began observing the fish segments. "A clean cut, no bruising… and very nice proportion… didn't even hit a single vital…less blood that way…." He muttered to himself, overall, pleased.

"What do you think?"

"I think that with some training, combined with the exceptional skills you already possess, you would surely become an alchemist to be rivaled."

A ghost of a smile flirted across Rumor's lips. She hadn't planned on finding a trainer, but she was open to the idea, now that it had been proposed.

"Sure! I can already do lots of stuff. Run and breathe more efficiently than a normal human, add oxygen to the air to fuel fire, remove oxygen to snuff it out, carry myself to great heights, and as you've witnessed, my "slice-n-dice" ability, not to mention much more!" She was excited, and he was pleased.

"If I could take a wild stab at it, I would dare say you were an air alchemist." Hohenheim commented, cheerful at her interest.

"Yep!" She agreed.

He chuckled, "well then, my little star alchemist-to-be! We begin in the morning! I don't have books for you to read," He paused as she scrunched up her face in protest at the thought of book work, she reminded him briefly of his oldest son when milk was set in front of him, "But I remember most of their content, so I guess you'll have to settle for learning by example."

"Yess…!" She hissed into her knees.

"HA HA HA!" His voiced echoed around the trees in his joy. "Alright, then, hands on, it is!"

…

Hohenheim and his new student started training immediately. In the first week alone, she knew more about alchemy than she had ever come across in her upcoming eight years of travel and research.

"Teacher, how did you come to know so much?" She asked one bright, sunny day.

"… just like you are learning now. With a teacher, some books, and a little bit of common sense, there is an entire world to discover with your mind and body." He said wisely. "Time for food?"

"Oh, yeah!"

He chuckled, he quickly caught on that she enjoyed food immensely. "Okay, then."

Now, he took out a flint, a piece of steel, and speedily gathered some kindling for their fire; she stared at him with interest.

"Why not just use alchemy?" She continued to watch him struggle to get the tinder alight.

"Because, we cannot depend on alchemy for everything; that is one thing you should learn, right now." He struck the flint again and this time the kindling took up the spark. Gently, he continued to place thicker twigs on, bigger and bigger, until he had a decent flame going.

Staring into the flames, her memories and pain took over again.

Rumor collapsed into a heap against a tree and sobbed out cries of pain, longing, and apologies, completely unaware of anything beyond the scenes of her own mind.

"I'm… sorry…. Why did you… I… can't…. I'll… return… would you… still…? I… I…'m sorry… I… love you… Roy…. I'm so… sorry…."

Hohenheim came to her and cradled her in his large chest. "Shh… It's okay, dear…. It'll pass…. You'll get through this… WE'LL get through this… together…."

More moments passed of much of the same scene. Just as he said, the fit passed and she slowly returned to normal. Tears stained her cheeks and pain throbbed in her heart, other than that, she was okay.

"There, there. How are you doing?" Hohenheim looked into his reflection in her glasses, truly concerned.

"… not good… but I'll get through…. I always do."

"…Okay." He stood up carefully and went back to the campfire, blocking its view from her sight; he had put together that the fire was the cause of her outburst for this was not the first time she had reacted so when he started a flame.

After a while, Rumor came to join him around the fire and indulged upon making them some soup with a few of the resources they had come up with.

Hohenheim broke the light silence in the air by announcing that he was not going to teach Rumor anymore alchemy.

"What? Why not?" she outburst at once.

"Because, I think it would be best to exercise your mind before your knowledge."

"What in the world do you mean by that?" she asked, more than slightly confused.

"I'm going to give you one month to figure out an enigma. If you figure it out, I will recommence our training, if not, you are no longer my student and you are free to go about doing what you wish. Deal?"

"… You're cruel. You know I'm going to take the deal because I have already had a taste of your teacher-ship skills and you know I like them very much… You also know that without you, I won't learn much on my own. I don't know what to look for."

He smiled knowingly in response.

Rumor sighed, "of course, I'll solve your stupid riddle."

"In a month." He completed.

"Yes, in a month."

"And did I mention that from here on until the month is done; you are forbidden to use alchemy?" He asked politely, still smiling kindly. Smiling was something that Rumor had seemed to forget how to do.

"No, you failed to mention that." Rumor said in dry wit.

"Oh, well, now you know!"

"…thanks…." She muttered apathetically.

"Now, I want you to tell me what 'All is one, and one is all' means. You have one month." Hohenheim went quiet; she had a feeling it was going to be like this for the duration it took her to figure the conundrum out. He wasn't going to say much to give her the time it required of personal thinking and reflecting on the question proposed; truly an exercise for her mind, but not her knowledge.

'All is one, and one is all….' She repeated to herself over and over again.


	15. Chapter 15 The Letter

The war ended and Roy returned to Central. He had not talked unless spoken to by an over-ranking soldier. Otherwise, he kept to himself. He didn't speak, and not one soldier talked to him.

After his report to the Furor in Central Headquarters, Mustang decided to drop by the military's hospital to visit his friend, Alex Lois Armstrong, whom had been injured in the war.

That done, he stopped by Hughes' place, then Gracia's, neither were home. He walked up and down the Strip, but, inevitably, he ran out of distractions to keep him from returning to his house, knowing no one would be waiting for him.

He crossed through the threshold into the empty entry way as he hadn't done in he didn't know how long and then to the dull living room. Everything was as it were the morning he left for the war, only now, a layer of dust seemed to coat everything he had. He dropped his black coat, then his soldiers coat onto the floor, not bothering to hang it up.

Knowing what the result would be, he searched the small house quickly to see if Rumor was anywhere, maybe hiding. She wasn't. He saved the bedroom for last.

Walking through the door frame now, he sauntered around slowly, looking everything over top to bottom. That's when he noticed it.

On top of the night stand on his side of the bed, was a dust covered piece of paper. He went to it; a piece of his broken heart fell onto the soft carpet with each step he took towards it.

When he picked it up, another piece of paper fell onto the floor by his soot covered combat boots, along with a picture, unsettling the dust where it landed.

The picture was of them. The only one they had ever taken as a couple. They had been in a nearby suburb and went shopping at a mall. Rumor had insisted on getting their pictures taken in a photo booth. The machine only took three pictures, the first two had come out black from a malfunction, but the third was of them smiling, she had her arms over his shoulders smiling nearly touching his nose as he looked to her, his hands on one of hers, the other was out of sight. He knew that he stared into her eyes, and she did into his.

Roy nearly choked on the tears that burst into his throat cutting off his air he grabbed his aching chest and it took long several breaths before he could manage to gain some control over the emotions he didn't know he had left.

Then, he looked at the other piece of paper that had fallen. It was a perfect replica of the picture, except that it had her eyes showing, she was looking at him with "that look" in her eyes; just as he had always wished to see. He looked back to his image in the photograph and noticed he had the same look. Though it was a sketch, she had added color as well, and her eyes were as red as they had been in Ishbal City.

Now, he wept.

Clearing his vision to the best he could, he looked to the letter in his hands, tears still streamed down his cheeks to drop and absorb into his white shirt.

It was a letter from Rumor:

_By the time you read this, I will have gone after you to Ishbal._

_I'm sorry, I have to go, I have something to tell you, and in case I don't find you, or if I do and I can't say it, I thought that you should know that I am an Ishbalan. I'm sorry. This is the secret that I haven't been able to tell you, because I haven't wanted to accept it in myself. I hate that I am Ishbalan, or should I say, I hate society for hating Ishbalan's like myself. _

_I don't know what I will do or say, when I find you, but in case you didn't know, I love you. I love you so much, though, I know, after reading this letter, you won't love me anymore. How could you? I have lied to you, avoided questioning from you, refused to show you my eyes which (unknowing what I was) you had craved to see, and stayed with you to fulfill my own selfish wishes. I wanted to be with you so badly, that in my selfish act, I did all of the above things to keep you in my "possession." I can't live with you now, I know that you wouldn't want me anymore, knowing that I was the scum of your alchemic world._

_I'm so sorry. Please blame me for everything. Every ounce of hate you are most assuredly feeling right now is my entire fault. If only I had returned your pocket watch and walked away that day, but I didn't, and like usual, everything I touch, I blow away in a hurricane, a cyclone that leaves nothing but destruction and scattered pieces in its wake. My greatest regret (other than being born an Ishbalan), is that you got involved with me. I am sorry and hope that you can walk away from your memories of me with a revived heart._

_I know I have no right to say this, but, I love you still. I can't help myself. I do, and every word I ever spoke to you was true… every single word._

_ ~Rumor_

Mustang's summer had ended. His heart was in an irreversible winter.

Roy gave over into his last impulse, "HOW COULD YOU EVER THINK THAT? HOW COULD YOU EVER THINK THAT I WOULDN'T STILL LOVE YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR HERITAGE? WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO COME AFTER ME AND WITNESS ME MURDER SO MANY INNOCENT PEOPLE? WHY? WHY? WHY-?"

Slowly, his mind deadened, her words had numbed him to the core.

Everything was his fault. If only he could have pushed her harder to show him her eyes, he would have been able to talk to her, to tell her that her heritage didn't matter and that he loved her anyway.

He couldn't stand anymore, he collapsed onto the bed and a cloud of dust flew into the air in a huff. His arm, still holding the note, lay across his unrelentlessly flowing eyes.

He hadn't slept for days. Each time he let himself doze off, thoughts of bombs, gunshots, fire… and red eyes would awaken him immediately. He saw them everywhere, in everyone. They all had their eyes… her eyes.

It was now, that he saw her eyes the clearest. He re-ran his summer days (all the days he had been with her, it didn't matter which _actual_ season it had been), the memories of HER that he had; only now, he saw her without sunglasses. Now, her eyes danced with the fire she had in her blood red eyes that night. He fell unwillingly into a deep sleep, this time, fatigue won and he wasn't able to wake from his nightmares.

…

This time, when Mustang woke, he really had resembled the living dead, with only one purpose in mind… destruction. He found a paint stripper and stripped the walls down to bare cement like a mad man consumed. Then, he found his personal collection of choice alchemy books and chose the one he wanted, the one on human transmutation….


	16. Chapter 16 Acceptance

Two weeks later.

"Rumor, come here." A familiar whisper reached her ears.

She did as she was told and silently crept towards the old man.

"I want you to kill that deer, no alchemy, remember." His voice grew quieter now as he pointed at the game yards into the forest thicket.

Gulping, she crept forward drawing her hunting knife from the sheath on her leg, Hohenheim watched in monitored approval.

She got within striking distance, and then stopped; Hohenheim's eyes widened in wonder.

'Look at it, just standing there, helpless and defenseless. It's so sweet and innocent… and she has a fawn….' Rumor thought towards the doe standing so close by.

"I can't do it!" She called, purposefully spooking it away. In its attempt to escape, it turned, bucked, and then rammed a powerful hoof into Rumor's left shoulder, leaving her bleeding and on the ground.

Rather than running to her like usual when she collapsed from pain in her heart, he strode over to her slowly and deliberately.

"What's the matter? Aren't you hungry?"

"…ehgn… of course…. We haven't eaten in days…."

"Then, why didn't you kill it?"

"I… couldn't…." A grunt of pain escaped her lips from the searing in her shoudlder.

"You had no problem with the fish."

"The fish… didn't have a baby… watching…." She said, still holding her shoulder in pain.

"Your right… it probably had ten thousand babies watching… not just one." Hohenheim replied calmly, not moving to help her.

"Er…!" She groaned half anger, half pain. He turned and walked away.

With great effort, Rumor pulled herself onto her knees, and then, wobbling still, she made it to her feet. She fixed her pack, replaced her knife, sucked in a large breath, tried ignoring the tremendous pain in her joint and continued after Hohenheim and his leather suit case.

…

One week to the one month marker.

Rumor stared up at the stars; this was something she did often. She never slept when she could avoid it. She always had the same reoccurring nightmare. She was always engulfed in flames that burned her into ash.

She looked now at the dying embers that glowed dimly under the midnight sky. Hohenheim slept deeply across the temporary pit.

Her stomach rumbled uneasily. They had had fish, again. She and her teacher hadn't spoken since she failed to kill the doe.

The pale moon filtered over her through the clearing in the trees. Its light gave her comfort and a sense of inner peace that she hadn't felt in years.

'I wonder if he's staring at the moon right now….' She thought to herself, feeling a sudden wave of emotion take over her again. 'Is it wrong to miss you so much?'

The stars twinkled and the moon moved. Timeless. It was then that it occurred to her.

'All is one, one is all. The world continues, even if I, the one, die and my life ends, the world continues on. But in the case of my one, if _he_ were to die, my life would end too, for he is my world, but the rest of the world would persist.' The stars and moon twinkled in delight.

"All is the world. One is me. Even if I die, the rest of the world goes on, but if someone close enough dies, my world ends, for that one, is my all." Rumor spoke aloud this time, her thoughts were cleared.

Hohenheim drifted out of unconsciousness and recognized what she was saying. "… yes. You figured it out. Do you think that the next time I ask you to take an animals life, even in front of its child, that you could do it?"

"Yes. Without hesitation. I have killed many times before, but never in front of another life force, but now I know, that sometimes, it is essential."

"Very well, I officially recognize you as my apprentice."

"Thank you, teacher. Your efforts will not be in vain." Rumor rolled over onto her knees and bowed her head to the ground.

He remained lying down, but returned, "I know you won't, now, get some sleep. You have a long while ahead of you of hard training."

"Yes, teacher and looking forward to it!" Rumor replied and he drifted back off after a drowsy smile, he followed that with deep, rumbling snores.

Lying on her back, her hands behind her head, she looked to the sky with new vigor and the wind picked up in delight. 'Wherever you are, I swear, that if you'll take me back, I'll come back to you… some day… my love.'


	17. Chapter 17 Glowing Embers

Hughes knocked on the door to the miss-kept house, surprised; it swung open.

"Hellooo!" He called in, peaking around the door, he saw the damage. Most things had bullet holes in them, the couch, the television, the lights, most appliances in the kitchen, and when he walked into the once green bedroom, he found Mustang sitting in a wooden chair against a wooden bedside table. There were two piles of ash, one was large and rectangular (the bed) and the other was much smaller and square (the other bed side table).

Mustang didn't even look up as Hughes entered with his picnic basket in hand.

On the bedside table, that had been Rumor's, behind Roy was: an open alchemy book, a picture and two pieces of paper looked as if they had been folded and refolded many times, and all had traces of singe marks on them, as if he had considered lighting them on fire, actually began too, then snuffed them out real quick. Lastly, a hand gun lay on top of everything.

Hughes quickly took in the rest of the room too. There were varied alchemy signs drawn in red on the walls, ceiling, and floor.

"I heard you got back from Ishbal, I thought I would bring you some thing…." Hughes began.

Mustang reacted with a harsh twitch to the word "Ishbal".

"My girlfriend made you a pie. She wishes you her best." Hughes sat down on an abandoned short stool, he was too lazy to go and try to find another chair that wasn't broken; he was also afraid of leaving Mustang alone now that he had seen what condition he was in. He hadn't shaved in a while, his chin showed rugged signs of neglect.

"I can see that your best isn't exactly reasonable right now, so I will only ask for explanations…." Hughes paused to wait for his best friend to speak.

After several long moments he did, "She's… one of them…"

"One of who?" Hughes asked gently at his friends' pause, instinctively knowing the "she" to whom he referred was Rumor.

"She's… Ish…balan…" Mustang's voice trailed off as it tensed uneasily with emotion, he looked as if he could shatter at any moment with a breath.

"Ishbalan?" Hughes repeated, noticing how Roy twitched at the word. "I guess it makes sense. That explains her sunglasses never leaving her face. And her skin was really dark…."

Roy sank lower and lower into the already too small chair, despair written into his being as obvious as his filth covered uniform.

"You were studying how to perform a human transmutation, weren't you?" Hughes asked him, he had noticed the circle's identities right away.

"It's called a taboo. It's kinda fun…."

Leaving the stool, Hughes was angry and grabbed Mustang by the collar, "I may not know much about alchemy, but I'm no fool, and I certainly know what happens to anyone who commits a taboo!"

"You can relax Meas, I haven't done anything."

He still didn't release his grip on his friends' shirt. "Maybe not yet, but you were planning to."

"You don't understand. You weren't there. She was… and…I… I did terrible things," Mustang stared at the dark walls, completely oblivious to the hand that him raised uselessly. Roy's previously lively grey eyes had changed to the charcoal state, nothing but ash was visible in his orbs.

"It's a war!"

"Easy for you to say, you weren't there…." Mustang's voice trailed off again.

Hughes took a step back and sat back on the stool. "No I wasn't, and if you didn't want to kill enemies in battle, you shouldn't have been there either. You should have asked for a desk job like I did. Did you think that if you became a state alchemist that you could fix everything? Bring back anyone who died in controversial war? Advance some utopian world?"

Mustangs snorted in bitter humor, "I don't know…."

Once again raised from his seat, Hughes punched Mustang hard in the face. "Is a taboo so easy to commit that you need just a little binge of studying to pull it off?"

Mustang just stared into space, avoiding Hughes, almost as if he wasn't there.

Hughes glanced over Roy's shoulder briefly, "Or do you just want a way to die? 'Cause if that's the case there's plenty of easier means."

"I tried…" Roy choked up again, "I couldn't… do it. I was… too much of a spineless man… to pull that… damned trigger."

"Good." Was all Hughes could say.

"It's just the cowardly human in me."

"You have to snap out of this man. Rumor isn't dead." Hughes began to try to reason with Roy now.

"Don't say that name! Don't ever speak i-!"

"Shut the hell up." Hughes snapped. "You can't keep doing this to yourself. SHE ISN'T DEAD!"

"I know. But still, even my life, detestable as it is, will have some use."

Hughes wasn't sure where he was going with that thought….

"Maes, I've got a plan." Mustang began.

"Let's hear it, Roy." Curiously, he looked to his friend whose charcoal eyes began to simmer a little, as if a not-quite-snuffed coal of hope took to the air.

Roy continued, "I'm going to become the Furor, Maes. I'll transform how this whole country runs. It's the only way I can justify taking my next breath."

Smiling slightly, Hughes added in, "To do that you're going to need someone who understands you and the system… and support you from the inside."

Mustang looked to him intently.

Taking a piece of pie out of the basket, Hughes explained, "I'll work under you, stay closer to the higher-ups, and push you to the top." He chuckled lowly.

Hughes extended his hand towards his best friend; he took it and shook on their promise. Hughes turned to walk out the door, feeling a little better about his friends' mental state and Mustang went to follow.

Before he left the bedroom, Mustang reached for a fairly large square, it was thin though; it was covered with a white sheet that was smudged with soot. Hughes hadn't noticed it before, but now he did. Roy had also re-sheathed his hand gun, and folded the pieces of paper and picture and put them deep in his pocket. Finally out of the house, he didn't look back as he snapped and his home set ablaze.

Hughes was shocked and just stared, standing in the middle of the street. Roy said as he walked past him, eyes closed, "If the landlord asks, a gas line broke and caught fire."

Turning, understandingly, Hughes headed off to HQ with Mustang and his mysterious white clothed rectangle.


	18. Chapter 18 Training Resumes

Days got tough, weeks flew by.

Occasionally, tears would bring Rumor to her knees again. Usually if Hohenheim were teaching her a sort of flame alchemy, or teaching her to use weapons like the tiny daggers that reminded her of Hughes in action, but as time passed, the edge of her despair eased with it.

"Time will heal all wounds…." Hohenheim spoke to her, but Rumor got the feeling that he was trying to convince himself of that as well.

"… I don't think that's the case with this one, teacher…."

His eyes glazed over with a heartfelt knowing. "… I know, but pain is ninety eight percent in our minds. We chose which pain to feel…."

"Well… if pain is the only way that I can feel connected to him… I will be in pain for the rest of my life." Rumor said with stubborn sadness, the only kind you can feel when you are apart from the one you love and are separated on the worst of terms.

"… You really loved him, didn't you?" His kind, golden eyes stared at her in a mix of wonderment and concern.

She thought about him, tiny needles stabbed, sewed and pulled at her heart, but she endured it with the strength she could now rely on, her lips pulled up at the corners, painfully, "… No."

"Humm?" He questioned.

"No… you said I LOVED him… I did then, and I do now. I do love him. I always will." Rumor stared off into the distance; her mind was miles away, in a breezy place where only he and she roamed in the tall, whispering grass.

His lips pulled up slightly at her growing wisdom and careful examination of his words "… Will you tell me about him? Any man who can hold your wild heart must be a pretty extraordinary man himself."

She smirked, eyes closed. "… Well, he's tall, dark hair and grey eyes… now that I think about it, he's pretty average. He's funny, handsome, serious, romantic, hot headed, impulsive, but over all, really nice. As you might have put together, he is better known as the Flame Alchemist."

"So he is a state alchemist." Once again, he didn't ask. It was a statement of fact.

Rumor averted her pained eyes and that was his confirmation needed to be true. He came up behind her and put a hand on her back. "We all have our faults, Rumor. He is only human."

"… no, a human wouldn't have killed so many people…." She bit her lip at the memory.

"You're wrong." Rumor looked at him now, confused and hurt, asking silently for him to explain. "A human would run from the horror, a soldier would follow his orders, bravely and knowing the consequence. You're man is a soldier who followed orders, but my question is, why were you there in the first place?"

She hadn't really thought the reason as to why she went after him, after all, he had promised to return to her, and she told Hohenheim so.

"Come on, think. You aren't the kind of person to go out on a whim and not know the cost of your actions. I don't think you really believed that when you chased him down, you would find him sitting around playing cards?"

"No, no… I guess I didn't…." Rumor thought harder and harder. "I guess… I wanted to save my people…."

"Really? That's surprising seeing as they are the ones who made you an outcast, why would you want to save them?" Hohenheim continued to stare at her intently.

"… Still, they did raise me…." Rumor stared off, not wanting to believe….

"I don't think that's it either. I think you got scared, you freaked out because he wanted to marry you, not even knowing what you really were and he was okay with that, but you weren't. As soon as he said the word "marry" something clicked in your head right then, a vision of cages and closed boxes perhaps? You were able to talk him out of marring and then he went away to war. You realized that there was a chance you would never see him again, and using the fact that it was "your people" he was killing, you were able to talk yourself into believing that you were doing something right, when really, your life had just become too right. Everything was too perfect, and you hated it. So you caused a problem, a big one, which you can no longer live with, and that's why you cry so much. You know you did this on purpose." Hohenheim now spoke more like a scolding brother than a caring father, but he knew what he was doing.

"You're lying!" She screamed. "I did not want to leave him! I didn't! I love him!"

"Were you so upset at him for wanting to marry you; not knowing the truth?"

"NO!"

"Did it ever occur to you that he wouldn't care?"

"Not care? What are you talking about?"

"About you being Ishbalan and he not caring?"

"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! Of course he would care!"

"How do you know that? Did you tell him before running off?"

"Well, no b—"

"My point. You didn't tell, he didn't pressure, you assumed his feelings for you without asking and you single handedly ruined your entire relationship. Because of what? Because you were too cowardly to tell him the truth and give him time to respond. You were too afraid of commitment."

"… I… I… oh, my God! I did!" She sobbed into her hands, completely aware of what she had done, when she hadn't even fully known herself, but it was all true; she couldn't deny it, now that it was in front of her.

"It's okay…" Hohenheim took her into his embrace, again, returning to a father and his favorite child. "It's okay; we all have done something similar, at one time or another. If he loves you, he will forgive you…."

She sniffled, "… you think… so?"

"I know so, now, let's stop to eat." He attempted to cheer her up, it worked a little.

…

As the months passed by, Hohenheim taught her about the different kinds of circles so that she could do more than transmute the air around her.

Now, she could manipulate the earth (more effectively. She could also do simple configurations to the earth with the winds' aid) and metals. Hohenheim taught her how to produce the strongest of poles, knives, and swords out of simply sand or gravel. He had her do so now.

Rapidly, she drew a simple circle in the dirt close to her feet, touched the circle and drew her hand up. Out of the earth raised a pole with a sharp blade on the top. Around where the blade and shaft met, was an intricate phoenix wrapped around the ridge and shone gold in the light.

"Very nice," Hohenheim praised. "Now, test its strength against me."

"I can't do that! You're…"

"Old?" He asked, in a shot to finish her hesitated sentence.

"Well… yeah, I mean, not old, old, but… you know… out of practice." Again, her voice staggered warily.

"Hmph!" He laughed quietly in humor. "I may surprise you."

"Well… if you're sure…."

"I am. So fight me." Hohenheim made the first move and kicked her hard in the stomach with the strength of a man half his age. She hadn't had time to block herself.

"Hey!" She gasped and bent double. "That was a cheap shot!"

"In war, there are no cheap shots. The one who takes haste to begin it quickly ends it quickly." He moved for her again, this time, she was ready.

'I'll have to remember that….' She thought and this time, blocked his kick with her pole, pushing against his overwhelming strength and mass, she ducked down to set him off balance, but he was ready and countered by trying to punch from above as she moved down.

Using the space between where his foot still pushed against her stick and where his arm had exposed his stomach for his punch; she lowered her left hand and pushed up with her right to slice at the small opening.

Jumping back lightly, he landed several feet away, but not before she had caught a sliver of his business coat. The brown strip fluttered calmly between them as it headed unhurriedly to the ground.

Their fight resumed, neither gained, nor lost ground.

"Alright, that's enough. You are skilled in battle tactics and your movements are swift. Your craftsmanship of the staff is exceptional. Keep it up." Hohenheim congratulated Rumor rightfully. He huffed slightly out of exhaustion, yet she remained unaffected.

"Thank you teacher." For the first time since the day he went off to war, Rumor smiled a true, heartfelt smile.

Hoenhiem thought how contagious her real smile was and he caught it.

…

Afternoon brought a sudden pang of sorrow washing through Rumor's heart like a crashing wave in high tide. An image of him leaning against the cedar where he gave her the collar she now touched gently. Smooth and worn it never left her neck. Closing her eyes in the soft sun she let her mind open.

'Please don't be sad, I love you. One day, I'll return to your side, if you'll take me, I won't ever truly leave you. Will you be waiting for me…?'


	19. Chapter 19 Breaking the Habit

It had been over a week, since that day when he burnt his house to the ground, in an effort to burn away his past, no matter how recent.

Every single time he thought of his act, a stray tear would overflow unwillingly from his steely eyes. 'I can't bear the thought of her, out there and on the streets again. What was I thinking? Burning down the only place she could call… _home….' _ More tears would come then. He thought of her touching the place over his heart, how she had once called him her home.

Hughes walked into Mustang's new office, it was much larger than the one they had shared; he saw Mustang crumpled on the floor against his heavy wooden desk… again.

"Come on," Hughes walked over to him and knelt beside him. "You'll make it through this. I'll make sure of that…."

All Mustang could do was collapse into Hughes' arms, he heaved heavier at the sudden image of Rumor out there somewhere, all alone, unable to do as he was… with anybody.

…

Within two months of Mustang's return from Ishbal, he was assigned a crew of his own, being a Lieutenant Major and such: First Lieutenant Meas Hughes, Sergeant Riza Hawkeye, and Sergeant Falmen.

Falmen was a tall, two toned haired man; grey on top and black on the bottom with a good sense of duty, followed orders as they were given with unyielding allegiance to the man or women in charge.

Where as, Hawkeye was a finely built woman, brown eyes, short blonde hair like she just got out of basic, with loyalty that was unrivaled and a kind heart that never got in the way of completing her mission.

"I see… Sergeant Hawkeye," Mustang addressed her while reading off of a sheet of papers for each of his officers.

"Yes, Lieutenant Major!" She called out, standing perfectly still.

"This here tells me that you are at the top of your class in marksmanship. Is that correct?"

"That is what they tell me, Lieutenant Major!" She answered again with complete discipline.

"Good, we alchemist need people like you to fall back on; I have a feeling you will be a great asset to our team."

She paused at the comment before answering less stridently, "I am honored to be here, sir. And thank you for the compliment, though I am not so sure I deserve it."

"Hughes," Mustang signaled his friend to fill in the new recruit.

"Sir!" Hughes turned to Hawkeye, "Trust me; the Lieutenant Major isn't one to hand out compliments where they aren't warranted. Personally, if the Lieutenant Major compliments you, you deserve it and if I were you, I would shut up and take it, with all due respect." He smiled encouragingly.

"I understand Lieutenant Major." Hawkeye turned back to face forward, towards the restless Roy Mustang, and said, "Thank you Lieutenant Major for your compliment! I pledge my loyalty to you from here on out!"

Falmen caught his fellow's intensity, "As do I, sir! I pledge myself to you!"

"And I, sir!" Hughes followed up.

Mustang stopped pacing and faced his faithful troops with satisfaction. "Glad to hear it. As you were."

…

Roy rarely slept; he got to a point where he didn't even bother trying. It was on those nights that he stared out his wide office window into the clear midnight blue sky. He watched as the moon waxed, then waned, then waxed again. It was as she had said so long ago; the cycle was a constant, ageless. His heart ached painfully, but he ignored it.

He leaned against the window pane and desperately begged to be outside the confines of his choices. He wished he could retreat to a place where there were no walls, no offices, and no commands.

He wished he were with her; wherever she was, he was certain that she was free. His heart longed for that and pounded its despise of its location hard against his chest.

Listening to the silence around him, his ears suddenly began to ring; they had rung on and off since the day he left for war, but never as strongly as this. It drove him insane; knowing who it was that was thinking about him. He almost broke down again at the searing image of her face, almost.

Furious for no apparent reason, he closed the curtains roughly and contented himself in pacing the room continuously, resisting the urge to lie down to his nightmares.

…

One day, Mustang was out in the courtyard for a long day of drills and strategies on no sleep once again. He had become somewhat used to fighting the impending fatigue.

A warm breeze took up as the troops finished the obstacle course, Roy, who had been observing them, stopped short and stared absently.

"… HUGHES!" Mustang barked, his eyes blank, but his voice strong.

Responding, he broke ranks immediately and stood at attention.

"I need to take the rest of the day off. Do you have it from here?"

"Yes, sir. Would you like my keys?" Hughes asked formally, he understood Mustang and knew instinctively that it was the wind that had his best friend spooked. It probably time that he got away from Central for awhile to unwind. He hadn't left base in months.

Hesitating only a heartbeats length at Hughes' offer, he responded prompt and curt. "Yes, thank you, First Lieutenant." Roy's voice full of formally to keep up the guise.

Hughes reached into his pocket and withdrew the keys. Tossing them lightly, Mustang caught them. With a final salute, Hughes barked the command to rest for the troops and Mustang left the cemented courtyard to head for the parking lot.

Finding Hughes' car without too much searching (separated by rank, so he just went to Hughes' ranks section), he jumped in, started it up and left through the guarded exits. Meas had called the security on the lots exit just moments ago for his friend's hassle-free clearance.

Heading to the woods where she, Hughes, Gracia and him self had that picnic so long ago, he stumbled through the woods; tears welled up in his eyes so badly that he could barely see. Finally finding the clearing, he started his way towards _that_ tree; the most distinct cedar in the surrounding area. It was a lighter color than most, larger with age, almost a birch white, and began branching off much higher than its brothers.

Reaching his goal, Roy slammed his fist against the rough bark. Panting with rage and pain, he slumped against the ancient tree and sank awkwardly to the ground overcome with turbulent emotions.

He repeatedly punched the trunk imperceptibly with each new gust that whistled through the forest.

"WHY? WHY?" He shouted to the wind, hoping she would hear, though he knew she wouldn't. "WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME? I LOVE YOU! I WILL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU! COOMME BAACKK!" He wailed like a child in the abandoned forest.

'Please, don't be sad.' Her voice whispered to him. 'I love you. One day, I will return to your side, if you'll take me, I won't ever truly leave you. Will you be waiting for me…?'

Mustang hushed at the unhurried whispers that sounded from all around. He was sure he was going crazy, but somehow, accepted that. He didn't cry again. "Well, I'm definitely going mad… what can I expect? Just another punishment I rightfully deserve…?"

"Are you okay?" Hughes appeared before Mustang, curled against the trunk, half asleep sometime near dark. He glanced at his friend's busted knuckles in the waning light.

"I don't know."

"Well, I came to get you. I took a taxi out here to retrieve my car."

"How did you know I'd be here?" Roy's rough whisper managed barely audible.

"Where else would you go?" Hughes smiled slightly. "You really shouldn't bust knuckles so often; people will start to ask questions."

Mustang's lips upturned slightly, "Yeah, I'll have to work harder to break the habit."


	20. Chapter 20 End of the Earth

News came on the wind of the end of the Eastern Rebellion. Rumor and her teacher had stopped in a town named Lior. It was a desert town and like all desert towns, it suffered greatly from lack of water and hope. They didn't stay long before returning to their travels.

Sleepless nights caught up to Rumor as she lay awake under the moonless but clear sky. The new moon.

She couldn't live this way. The bags under her eyes grew deeper, purpler; but she couldn't sleep either. Her flaming nightmares never failed to burn her from the inside out.

Hohenheim slept deeply nearby. There were very few nights that he stayed up with her through the lonely hours. She wondered if his ghosts were more apt to wound him during sunlight, rather than nighttime hours as she.

Unable to stand still for another minute, Rumor stood and slipped out of the small tent. Slipping into her renewed dust covered boots; Rumor took off into the night, dashing towards the western horizon, away from the East, away from the sun, away from Central and away from her nightmares.

Hohenheim was immediately aware that Rumor was no longer present in the temporary 'anti-sand' tent.

"Rumor?" He waited, knowing she would not respond. "Rumor?" He called again. A thin whispering breeze answered this time. Unzipping the opening, he peeked out and found that her boots were gone (no surprise), but no tracks were visible anywhere around the original set prints.

He smiled to himself, 'I see. She has become so efficient in her swift runs; she no longer leaves a trail, even in the softest of sands….'

Letting her go, Hohenheim retreated back into the tent.

Rumor was exhilarated by her long needed sprint. Traveling with an 'old man' had taken its toll on her young body. She needed to stretch her legs, to be pushed to the physical limits of her being, not just her mental ones, as she had focused on for so long now.

Laughing aloud as the wind whipped through her now past shoulder length hair, she pushed harder into the west until she reached the end of the continent. She felt as if she had out-run the sun itself.

It was so dark without the moon that the waves in front of her looked more like an endless abyss of nothing rather than water. Unable to discern the beach beneath her feet from the water rushing around in front of her and the starry sky above, this place felt more like the end of the earth. The wind whispered into her ears, almost a discernable voice all its own.

She listened as the soft rhythm of nature lavished her heightened senses.

Walking to the waters edge, she removed her boots and left them safely on the shore before wadding into the blackened ocean.

Laughing hysterically in unannounced exhilaration, she dived into the icy expanse before her.

When she resurfaced, she felt a new wave of energy. Grasping her wristbands, she placed her hands to the water and the wind picked up and created waves to her liking. A spare piece of driftwood bumped into her. In the dark, she reached for it. She found the piece to be just longer than she was tall.

Taking a firm hold on the slick board, she carved a circle into it with her nail and pressed a few finger to it. Immediately the wood evened, smoothed, and stretched out to her taste. Still inexplicably crazed, the waves bobbed her everywhere and she laughed vociferously.

Using her feet, Rumor kicked her way through her own waves. Reaching a good distance from the shore, she kicked up the wind even higher and sent a fair wave her way, white cresting in the palest light of the stars. Rumor hopped onto the board and surfed her way to the shore, feeling an inexplicable rush of adrenaline.

Rumor repeated this act several times, with each; she increased the wave height and the distance she swum away from shore.

Finally, the sun rose and she no longer felt the need to continue her manic idea of blind fun.

Allowing the water to carry her gently onto the sandy shore in the pastel light of morning, Rumor abandoned her board into the waves, picked up her boots, then dashed back to the tent to find Hohenheim packing up.

He looked her over. Despite the large distance from the shore to the tent, she was still wet.

"I'm surprised."

"At what?"

"That you came back."

"Oh," Rumor looked down and slipped her now dry feet into the combat boots she had carried here. The thought had crossed her mind to take off and not return; neither to Hohenheim, to him, or to anything familiar to her. The running had felt so good, so… liberating.

"I'm glad you did."

"I'm glad too, teacher."


	21. Chapter 21 Insomnia

It had been months since Roy Mustang slept through a night. He had a couch set up in his large office. It was comfortable, though not quite as comfortable as his previous black leathered sofa… but comfortable nonetheless.

Every time he would drift off to sleep, he would have nightmares of the war, of what he had done and they would always finish with a pair of red eyes, lit ablaze with dancing flames and rage in their glossy surfaces, and his frightened image reflected in them. He sank into those eyes… spinning wildly… faster… faster, faster….

He woke, gasping for air. He looked to the clock over the door.

12:20 a.m.

He had allowed himself to doze off in desperate need of rest, at midnight. He stood up with great effort and walked into the bathroom. He wore boxers and a fully done up white shirt. He couldn't bear to have it undone, especially part way….

Gazing into the looking glass, he saw his reflection. He was now clean shaven, unlike the day Hughes and his pie had come to rescue him, his hair was messed from his unsuccessful attempt at sleep, and the bags under his eyes looked worse and blacker than ever. He turned the faucet on, and then proceeded to splash the cool water onto his face. Looking back up, he realized even more how pathetic he had become, if that could be possible.

There came a quiet knock at the door.

Slightly surprised, he quickly wiped his face and went to answer.

Upon opening the door, he saw one of his young officers standing there.

"Hawkeye, this is unexpected." Mustang offered as a greeting.

"My apologies, Sir…." She stood there, noticing how his hair was slightly damp and his apparel consisted of boxers and a button down.

"Well, what's your business?" Mustang wanted to sound gruff, but couldn't bring himself to it. He was just too tired.

"Well… um…." She began hesitating, quite out of the normal for her.

"Spit it out."

"Right, Sir. I just happened to notice that you weren't sleeping well lately and I thought you might like to try this." She rushed through her reason.

His eyes glowered down at her turned away face. He thought that he had been hiding it well from the others. He was furious at himself for not realizing that he hadn't been.

Mustang sighed heavily, there was no use in being upset, and she was already here. "What is it that you want me to try?"

"It's a sleeping pill. It's said that the people who use it never dream, or at least, they don't remember their dreams."

"Who said it was dreams that were keeping me awake?" He snapped.

"By your reaction just now, you did, Sir." She bit her lip afraid she had gone too far out of line. "If you still want it, go ahead and take them. The instructions say that you should count on at least eight hours, but judging for your situation, I request permission to inform First Lieutenant Hughes that perhaps, he should take over for today's schedule, if you agree…."

Contemplating for only a moment, he took the offered box. "Permission granted. Is that all?"

"No, Sir," Hawkeye paused and looked up into his eyes for the first time since her surprise visit. "Sleep well, Sir."

"And you, Hawkeye." He shut the door now, not waiting for her to step back. Her voice had softened and reminded him so much of HER. It had sent him into a round of panic.

Closing his eyes, he dealt with it. Looking back to the burgundy leather couch, he went to it and popped a pill in his mouth and rinsed it down with a glass of water.

'Roy…' Her voice whispered his name as his head dropped towards his pillow.

Upon hitting the surface, he was out and in a dreamless bliss that he couldn't even enjoy properly.

…

He woke eighteen hours later to a setting sun and he felt completely rejuvenated. What Hawkeye had said hadn't been completely true… at least for him. He had dreamed a little bit; of his year of summer, rather than his fire-red fall that had been haunting him. Now, the setting sun was a perfect end to his autumn, he could slip quietly into his murky winter and embrace it for what it was.

His head was suddenly clear. He saw his life, as it was before HER (spring: his life was getting ready to take off) then his life with HER (summer: endless days of beauty and soft, comfortable breezes with whirlwinds of love and passion thrown in), the short part of his life when she left him cold and alone, as he had done to her too (autumn: sharp temperatures that no one could bear, a back and forth battle of struggles between loss and gain, war and peace, right and wrong, morals and duty; the fall away from her where everything became dull except for the vivid colors of blood, pain, and depression) and his life as it would be from now on (winter: a bitter and dead life, cold and unchanging). His life would be frozen in endless days of frostbite and snow.

Somehow, he was okay with that. He found that this would be a suitable punishment for his sins. Though this punishment could last through death and it would never last long enough.

Knocking surprised him, this time when he answered, he felt sturdier, readier.

"Hey, buddy." Hughes stood there and Mustang held the door to motion him in.

Once in, the door replaced and locked, Hughes turned and looked at his companion, taking him in. "There's something different about you. You look… good," unable to hide the surprise in his voice completely. "Healthier in some way than what you have been looking lately. What happened?"

"… Sergeant Hawkeye visited me last night…."

Mustang paused, waiting for Hughes to make a comment, he didn't. Hughes understood what Roy meant and for some reason, making a joke to even suggest otherwise, would leave a sour taste in his mouth. So he kept quiet, and Mustang continued.

"She gave me some sleeping pills. She said she had noticed I wasn't sleeping well and that I might want something to help with my nightmares."

"I see. You've got a good officer in her, might want to consider keeping her around." Hughes alleged, completely serious.

"Yeah…." Mustang sat down behind his desk.

"So, how did you sleep?" Hughes pushed the remaining blanket to one end of the makeshift bed and sat down. "I hope well, I had one heck of a time trying to get everything done today without you around!"

Mustang grunted with what could be considered something close to a laugh, "I did sleep well. I dreamt, but it wasn't unpleasant. When I woke up, I felt… better. I could think clearer than I have in months. Suddenly, everything makes sense. I think my biggest progress was being able to accept my life."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said. I can accept what my life is going to be like. I will have to kiss ass, follow orders, and make it to the top through any means. I will be the perfect dog. I will have to do this, living in my winter." Roy said all of this in a tone of voice that Hughes had never heard him speak in before.

"Winter?"

"Yep, that's what my life is now that she has gone from it forever. Without her, I live in a dead, frozen wasteland within myself. But that's okay. The ice has frozen her memories into my heart. They won't be going anywhere, but they won't have to keep haunting me either. I'm starting my new life as of now, and I'm finally ready for it."

Hughes didn't smile, but he didn't say anything against it either. How could he? He couldn't completely comprehend what Roy was going through, but he could only imagine himself if anything happened to Gracia; actually, he didn't have to imagine, Roy over the last few months was his image. Now, he understood. This was the best he could hope for, for his friend, is that he would reach a point where he could rationalize his purpose in life and carry on, even if it was a frozen existence. Nothing could get through to his ice coated heart, and so nothing left it either.

"Glad to hear it."


	22. Chapter 22 Travels

Training continued. Hohenheim had not only become Rumor's teacher, but a traveling companion, a confidant, a father figure.

Hohenheim had helped Rumor put her life into perspective, her issues with him into a safe and manageable state, and her problems with herself; she was now able to accept. She owed him so much.

"I want you to do something for me." Hohenheim said well after a year of their training together had passed.

"Anything. I'd do anything for you teacher." Rumor said readily.

"I want you to leave me."

"What?" Rumor was completely shocked at the suddenness of his request.

"You heard me. I have taught you so much, that it is time you went out on your own for a while."

"But! I thought things were going good! I thought that you wanted me around! Why would you send me away? How will I find you again?" Rumor was desperate to keep him close. She needed him, he had been the glue holding her together for so long.

"I already told you. There are some things that you need to discover on your own. And things are going good. Isn't that reason enough to leave?"

Ouch. He hit her below the belt. "I know things are good, and this time I don't want to run away from that."

"I'm glad you feel that way, but it is only because I am safe to be around. I'm not the one that you should want to stay with." Hohenheim paused and let his softly spoken words sink into his student. "And you will always be able to find me. We are connected to one another. You know what I smell like as well as everyone you have ever met. I have taught you to heighten your alchemy to levels that will bring in any scent that you chose to channel in on. No matter where I am, I will not be able to hide from you. I have sent several letters to my wife already; I don't think a single one of them has the same return address. She won't be able to find me, no one will; no one but you and only because I have made it so."

Smiling his famous kind, yet still always vaguely sad smile, he said his farewell. "Good luck to you, my apprentice, my Rumor." He spoke softly; these words were sacred to him and to her.

"Thank you, teacher. I will find you again; I will be stronger, wiser and in control." With a contagious smile of her own, she slung her single-strap backpack across her shoulder and headed north.

…

Long nights followed Rumor, now that she was truly alone again. Or was she?

Staring up into the dazzling midnight sky, it was blessed with the full moon and thousands upon thousands of tiny, twinkling stars.

Abruptly, she no longer felt alone. A connection seemed to be forged between her, the moon, and _him._

Pulling her attention away from the moon, she starred to the south east where Central was and felt her heart leap towards it. Rumor considered obeying; she even took several unconscious steps in that direction, but stopped. She wasn't ready to see him.

…

While she was away, Rumor thought of many things over the years of being on her own.

Most commonly, she would run and rerun all possible conversations that could transpire between her and _him_ if she were to seek him out again. The majority of them ended in him leaving her or laughing in her face. So she continued to avoid Central for yet another year.

But sometimes, she would think of her life. Where would she go? Who would she grow to love? Who would want her?

Rumor knew the answers. Actually, there was only one.

"Roy…." It was the first time she had said his name since she had whispered it lovingly into his ear before his departure.

Her head snapped towards Central, she always knew where it was, for she always knew how to avoid it.

Over the year, Rumor had searched out Hohenheim's scent; she had always wanted to keep a tab on him, just in case she needed to flee to him.

He traveled a lot, as much as she did, she was sure. No matter where he was, she was able to pinpoint his exact location, how many miles away he was, which town he had probably just come from, where he was probably heading next…. Rumor had the whole country mapped in her head.

Like her, Hohenheim had a specific town he gave a wide berth to. Actually, they shared this town, Resembool.

And for him, also a most curious village to her; it was Dublith. She expected Resembool from him, but she had passed through Dublith many times in her travels, yet he refused to get within fifty miles of it. She guessed that perhaps he had some kind of vice against it as she did to Central.

'How curious?' She thought and decided to investigate herself.

…

To take up time, Rumor walked to Dublith. She felt that she could use the time to think and review what she knew about Hohenheim's past to analyze why he may not like Dublith. It was then that she realized how little he had actually spoken about his past before Trisha.

Upon entering the village square, Rumor took her time to walk around and simply observe the people and how they lived, rather than ask question's and get herself into something she didn't want to be a part of.

What she found was normal. The people were nice, hardworking, and honest. Word spread quickly that a new comer was in town.

"Hi, there!" A young boy called to her. He had light brown hair and eyes.

"Hi." Rumor answered uneasily.

'These people don't get visitors very often, do they?' She thought with a small smile.

"Hey, brother!" The youthful boy called over his shoulder. "Come talk to her! She's really nice!"

Rumor stood patiently on the cobblestone side street as another boy did just a couple meters from her down the street.

This boy had fair hair and unusually fair eyes. Rumor bent down to look into those stubborn eyes from behind her shades. He took a step back from her.

"Whad'ya want?" The fair haired child asked vulgarly.

"Brother, don't be rude! She hasn't done anything!" The first boy complained.

"Oh, nothing. You just remind me of someone, that's all…." Rumor's voice faded with concentration.

"Well, that's something, then, isn't it? Not nothin'." The blonde boy had snapped the come-back quickly; he was sharp for his age.

"Brother!" The first boy whined.

"No, no. It's quite alright." Rumor turned to peer at the first boy through shaded eyes. "What's your name?"

"Alphonse!" Al said quickly with a cheery smile.

Rumor smiled comfortably to show her pleasure, "Alphonse, I like that!"

His face turned slightly red at the compliment, but giggled anyway.

"And what's your name, little man?" Though Rumor smiled gently, the second boy jutted his chin out, as if holding in tears, then ran away up the lane to a woman in a white dress and black leggings that just stepped out from around the corner.

"I'm sorry, if I upset him…." Rumor apologized to Alphonse regarding the other boy.

"No, it's okay. That was my brother, Edward. Brother was probably upset when you called him 'little man' and smiled so sweetly. Mother used to smile like that and call him her little man." Alphonse explained quietly.

"Used to?"

"Yeah, she died last year." Alphonse's face strained with emotion.

"I'm so sorry, so who is that lady?" She indicated the woman in white and with black dread locks that stood at the top of the hilled alley, now clutching the clinging Edward to her.

"That's our teacher, Miss Izumi."

"So, what about your dad?" Rumor asked, though she already had her suspicions.

"I don't know. He ran off years ago, brother hates him for it. I was too little to remember him." Alphonse looked up to his brother and his teacher who stood at the top of the hill, as did Rumor.

"Understandably." After a moment of silence, Rumor excused herself. "I better get back to my travels…."

"Why are you traveling?" Alphonse asked curiously.

"I'm learning alchemy. My teacher ordered for me to travel on my own for a while." Rumor explained, calmly.

"Really? My brother and I are being taught alchemy as well, by Miss Izumi!" Alphonse was excited by this common bond. Rumor laughed lightly.

"Ha ha! I see! Miss Izumi must be a great alchemist, then?"

"She is! She's the best!" Alphonse said fondly.

"I'll bet she is. I look forward to seeing how you two develop your skills!" Rumor said, growing more affectionate towards the kid by the minute.

"So, I will see you again?" Alphonse said hopefully.

"I'll make sure of it!" Rumor took his and Edward's scent in very carefully so she would be able to find them again in the future so she could keep her promise. She paid special attention to Alphonse's.

Saying their farewells, Rumor left Dublith with only a new friend, rather than answers to her original questions. She decided that in order to answer them, she would have to talk to Hohenheim himself.


	23. Chapter 23 Winter Years

Hughes was passing by Mustang's office when he noticed the door was cracked a bit.

"Knock, knock!" He voiced, but no answer came. He stood upright with a mischievous look and leaned back, bumping the door as it swung wider, "Opps! Well, if the door is open, walk through it!"

He was trying to be funny and sat behind Mustang's desk impersonating him, "Hey there Hughes, what's that? I can't hear you! You aren't in my office anymore! Yeah, that's right, I got a bigger one and you didn't, HA HA HA!"

"Hughes." Mustang's real voice called.

"!" Meas didn't answer right away; he gulped then, "Sir…."

"What are you doing?" Mustang called, still in the doorway.

"Uh… just cleaning up! Yep! Tidy, tidy, clean, clean!" Hughes said and began stacking things hurriedly, and willy-nilly. There were a couple of papers that fell. Hughes went to pick them up and noticed that they were Rumor's; a letter, two drawings, and a picture of her and Roy.

Hesitating only a moment, Roy was over him, looking down at what Hughes held in his hand, still half bent out of the chair. Hughes glanced through Mustang's legs to that same covered rectangle; he wondered what it was, once again.

"… Thank you, Hughes. That is all." Roy dismissed him; his voice had grown harsh in monotony once again.

With a small curtsy, he left the papers on the newly cleared desk.

Alone in his office, Roy sat down with a great sigh behind his desk. He put his face in his hands and eyed the array that Hughes had left. The actual picture was on top, the first drawing that she had given him next (the pocket watch, a boy and his dog, and such), the letter she had left, and the colored recreation of the photograph was on the bottom.

He picked up the picture and studied it momentarily before setting the array in the middle top drawer under a lock and key.

More months passed. Roy got up, dressed, went through his daily routine, commanded his troops, completed his missions, and returned to his office to begin again. He would take one of Riza's magic pills every night.

He went to bed once without taking one and had had that same nightmare, he woke up and popped one right away; cold sweat dripped down his face. His life really had become the winter he had described to Hughes, but he was surviving. Not good, not exceptional, not even happy, just… surviving.

Hughes stopped in to visit Mustang on their day off like normal. Gracia was working.

"Yo, what's kickin?" Hughes said in a cheery voice.

"Huh?" Mustang looked at him like he was stupid.

"Oh, never mind. What's new?" It was a dumb question; nothing was ever new with his frozen friend.

"I've been thinking lately…." Mustang stared out the window with a serious expression on his face.

Never mind, something _was_ new.

"What about?" Hughes did well suppressing his smile of his own thoughts.

"I've been thinking that I might grow my hair out. Down to my eyes or so…." His voice trailed off.

"What brought this on all of a sudden?" Maes quirked his eyebrow up at the peculiar response. He was expecting something a little… different?

Mustang shrugged, "I dunno…. Rumor mentioned it to me once."

"Oh." Hughes was surprised. It was the first time he had said her name in well over a year. Much less… he didn't even flinch.

…

Another year passed and Mustang stood looking out on the night of the full moon. He peered out the window to the large, silvery globe and felt pulled to it. His thoughts wandered to the desert, the west. He suddenly thought that was where Rumor would be; as far away from the east as possible. Roy didn't know why this thought occurred to him now, but was shocked by it nevertheless.

Looking to the north and west, Roy's heart pulled at him to go there. But he wouldn't obey, no, he had to stay put. This is where his duty called him to be…. But he couldn't shake the feeling to go to where _she_ would be.

…

Years had passed. Mustang had clung to Central, hoping faintly that she would come back to him. She never did, and he didn't blame her….

"Congratulations," Furor Bradley walked up to Roy Mustang, standing among the few others who would receive promotions. "Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang, you are now Colonel Roy Mustang, do you accept?"

"I do. Thank you, Furor. I accept the title with honors!" Mustang answered with the faithfulness of an unfaltering canine. Furor Bradley handed Roy two more gold stars to put onto his shoulder guards, one for each side to add to the two on each that were already in place.

The Furor nodded and continued to Hughes who stood directly in line next to Mustang. "Congratulations Captain Hughes, you are now, Major Hughes, do you accept?"

"I do, Furor King Bradley, with honors!" Hughes replied in the same fashion.

Furor Bradley nodded and continued down the shortened line.

Colonel Roy Mustang stole a glance at Major Hughes; they shared a small smile, and then continued facing forward.

…

Orders came in for Colonel Roy Mustang from the Furor to go out on a mission to Resembool to find the two kids who had sent out letters regarding the infamous alchemist, Hohenheim.

Mustang accepted, of course, but choked at the thought of THAT rural village.

Like he had thought about, he had grown his hair. He boarded the train, and did so not expecting a turn of season….


	24. Chapter 24 A Life So Old

Tracking him down quickly, Rumor started for him. He was right. He could be cowering in the deepest, darkest hole and he would not be safe from her alchemy.

Taking it slowly again, Rumor gave herself time to think over her possibilities. The call to return to Central pulled at her more and more. She even diverted her path to travel several miles before turning back.

"This is so stupid! Mustang would never want to see me again. I hurt him too bad" She said aloud to the sand beneath her feet.

Hohenheim's words echoed in her head, 'If he loves you, he will forgive you….'

"Shit."

Though she could distinctly remember her past love's exact scent, she hadn't dared herself to call upon it in her alchemy, afraid of her emotional backlash to it.

Now, she did, less than thirty miles from the center of the country, she would be able to find him wherever he was, but when she performed the alchemy, he was no where on the wind. She brought in a great gust from all directions to her. Nothing.

Not one stream brought his woodsy, spice combination on the breeze.

"Shit!" She called to the air around her. 'Dammit, he must have changed his cologne or something!'

Thinking that she'd spent enough time wallowing about past events, she concentrated solely again on Hohenheim, this time, to avoid distractions, she bolted with alchemy towards him.

Reaching him in no time, he was once again, surprised, yet unsurprised by her abrupt reappearance.

"So, how has it been going?" Hohenheim greeted pleasantly.

"Not so well. I didn't learn anything while out on my own!" Rumor complained.

"You weren't meant to learn anything."

"But you said -!"

"I know what I said; you don't have to reiterate it for me. This was meant for you to have a completely free of effluence self reflection period. What you were supposed to find out is things that you already knew, or lived through, and learn from them. A sort of 'self teaching based on personal experience trip'." He explained.

"Oh. That was it?"

"Yep, so I'll ask it again. What did you learn?" Hohenheim said with infinite patience.

"Well… I figured out some things about myself, and about Roy…."

"I see. Very well." Hohenheim said when she was done explaining the details of her self-reflection periods. Most of them had taken place under the stars. "Looks like you shouldn't have many questions for me about your own life. You seemed to have gotten things straitened out there."

In truth, she had. The years she had spent away from Hohenheim and her soldier had let her think of many things; herself, Roy, Hohenheim, her family, her village, her relationships with each, and her feelings for everything above. Talking out loud to her teacher had just helped to summarize and simplify her reflections.

"Yes, it's true, I do feel better about myself, but can I ask you something, teacher?" Rumor asked. They had stumbled upon some abandoned and ancient ruins, where they were able to talk in secret. Rumor double checked for anothers scent on the wind.

"I suppose." Hohenheim heaved a great sigh.

"Why is it that you smell like a rotting corpse?" Hohenheim's wise eyes snapped up at once in surprise. He had not expected that question. "I have noticed it since the first time that I met you so many years ago."

He closed his fair eyes, Rumor's suspicions were confirmed. Edward and he did, undeniably, share the same eyes and hair.

"I have known you were sharp and that it was only a matter of time before you confronted me about this."

"So, is this a part of your "condition"?"

"Yes." Hohenheim sighed again.

Rumor sighed too, understanding. "I met your boys."

Again, she shocked him greatly.

"Edward and Alphonse, right?" Rumor asked, though she knew.

"Yes, but… how? Where?"

"In one of the two cities you avoid, Dublith. Is that why you avoid that town?"

"No! What are they doing there? I avoid Dublith because that is where Dante resides."

"Dante?" Rumor asked. She didn't have the heart to be the bearer of bad news of his wife.

"Yes, it all began 400 years ago…."

At the end of his life's sad tale, a single tear escaped his eyes.

"I don't want you to avoid your dog anymore." Hohenheim said with his voice strong and his eyes alight.

"What? What does this have to do with me?" Rumor was shocked at his blunt words.

"Shut up and listen to me." Rumor did as she was told. "I have spent 400 years jumping from body to body, losing a piece of myself along the way and sacrificing millions of lives for this selfish reason alone. I would have continued if it wasn't for Trisha. I love her and want to be with her again. She is the only one I could ever love. I don't want to kill anyone for such an absurd reason as "immortality". I have spent a long time running from death and will do so no longer. That doesn't mean I will give up on life, but simply the rest of what this body has to offer. I have not given much to the world. I have given Trisha and you my all. I do not want to leave this earth without this lesson untaught: Love with all your heart, life on earth for yourself is not forever, but a life in love with another will last an eternity. Now, go to him. Life is too short to play by its rules. You have to go on your own. Always do what's right. Love with all your heart and give him all you have to give, no matter how little it may seem to you, to him, it is everything. Always be the first to apologize. And always have room for forgiveness. Never hate your enemies, but love them. Never enter his arms with secrets and never be willing to let him take your bullet."

Rumor stared blankly at him for a moment; then asked, "…Is that all?"

Hohenheim whacked her over the head with his suitcase, "Don't make a mockery of me! I'm serious!"

"I know, I know! Just kidding! Oww…!" Rumor complained, holding her now aching head. "Wher'ja learn all that stuff anyway?"

"400 years brings with it its own list of philosophies." He smiled at her kindly and she smiled back.

"This is my farewell, Rumor." Hohenheim bowed graciously. "You are by far the most astounding student."

"I take my memories of us with me in honor. This is only a temporary goodbye. Please, take this as my final parting gift." Rumor handed him two sketches. One was of him, Trisha, Alphonse and Edward. He held up Edward's hands as he balanced on a low stoned hedge, Trisha held baby Alphonse in her arms. They were outside in front of his house in Resembool. The pages were yellowed with age. 'She must have drawn this when she first passed through Resembool.' The next was of Alphonse and Edward now, as Rumor had seen them in Dublith. They were young. Edward was balancing on a bridge's wide hedge of his own accord while Alphonse walked safely in the middle of the lane. Both smiled widely as they had in the first picture.

Hohenheim looked up from them, tears brimmed his wise eyes, "Rumor these are-!" He began, but she wasn't around.

The breeze flushed past him and he felt his cheek. It was warm from the brief touch of lips. He smiled and closed his eyes; the tears ran slowly over his aged face, "Thank you…." He whispered and knew his breath would carry to her in the breeze.


	25. Chapter 25 Here I Come

Despite what her teacher had told her of time, Rumor waited another year before returning to central. The clouds were moving in and she knew a storm was imminent.

She walked the unchanged familiar streets to the front gate of Central Military Headquarters. It had taken her seven years to prepare to take those steps.

Inhaling deeply and calmly, she slowly released as she pressed her finger to the white button in the middle of the black, modern-gothic style call box.

"Central Headquarters, state your purpose!" A harsh, female voice commanded through the speaker.

Rumor clenched her eyes tight as she pressed the button again, "Here to speak to Maes Hughes!" She called back, suddenly too chicken to say _his_ name again.

There was a pause. "He will meet you in just a moment. Don't move."

'Like I was planning too. What is it? The new ultimate dare to buzz for an officer at CHQ then run away? How lame.' She thought to herself.

Rumor quickly looked over her shoulder into the shop window across the street at her reflection from head to toe. She still wore her sunglasses and carried her not very heavy pack, but she had acquired some new clothes that she was very fond of: She wore a green-black high collar tank top (it bore her own personal symbol above the place on her heart which had morphed through her training with Hoenhiem. The symbol for Earth now met with Air and created a diamond between the lines of the alchemic symbols), over that she wore a two toned brown and light brown zip up sweater that reached the top of her stomach and that she also left unzipped so it hung slightly off her shoulders and the sleeves covered the tips of her fingertips, and she wore two toned pants of brown and dark brown, a new pair of black boots, a new black and white checkered belt (the trimming between her two toned pants and sweater were also black and white checks, and a green wrap (something similar to the Ishbalan full body wraps) over top of everything. Right now the wrap was safely within her back, it was too hot and sticky in Central for such an item; it was better suited for dry, rather than humid, heat. The outfit together was rather stunning and was perfect for her figure.

In only a few moments, Rumor caught a glimpse of Hughes trotting to her from the building. Once he caught sight of who it was that called on him, he stopped dead momentarily before bolting to the gate.

Opening it in a flash, he jumped on her. "Oh, the Saints!" He exclaimed. "I knew it was you! It just had to be!"

"Hughes! I- can't- breathe!" She gasped out. He released her and stepped back.

He whistled as he took her in, "My, my! How you have flourished my rare beauty of the desert!"

Blushing slightly from the heat of his words, she tried to hold it in, but couldn't. Rumor let out a great laugh and tears sprang instantly from her eyes hidden behind her tinted sunglasses.

"Oh, my God! What is it Rumor? Are you okay?" Hughes shook her slightly noticing a stray drop run from beneath the rims.

"Oh, HAHAHA! Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just fine now! It was all just so much; I can't believe how much I've missed you!" This time, it was her turn to jump on Hughes, he accepted her into his arms like an older brother might.

"I've missed you too! Old grumpy-coal hasn't been any fun since you've left. How long has it been?" He released her at the same time she loosened her grip on him to stand a comfortable, close distance apart.

"Seven years."

He whistled lowly. "Wow, doesn't seem like that long… or does it?" He had caught the look on her face.

"Sometimes, no, but other times, it has felt so much longer. I think the first year was the hardest by far…." Her voice trailed off, an unspoken question lingered around her.

"He's been okay." Hughes answered, not needing the vocal concern to know what she wanted to hear the answer to.

"Just okay?" Rumor asked, surprised.

"Yeah, just okay. To say anything more, would be exaggerating. How have you been?" Hughes asked he was completely serious.

"… I've been… okay."

"Just as I thought." Hughes smiled slightly, the jokes still were absent.

"Um… does he, you know… want to see me?" Choking on her words, Hughes answered truthfully.

"I don't know."

That surprised Rumor. "How do you not know? You guys talk about everything, don't you?"

"I don't know, honestly. We used to talk about everything, but that was over seven years ago. Lately, it's been work, plans for the future, even food. As a matter of fact, we do talk about everything, everything… but you." Hughes voice was soft, almost somber, but she saw the truth in his eyes. "We haven't talked about you in years, but I do know one thing. He still has your letter, and your sketches, and a photo. I saw them myself a few years back. They surprised me. I was going through his stuff for fun and came across them, Roy just shooed my out without a word of scorn or hate. He just simply asked that I leave. Actually, his voice had scared me more in his dry politeness than if he had come at me with a loaded gun."

Again, Rumor was shocked, so much so, that this time, she was hard pressed even more to form her next question. "… Is he, um… here?"

"No. He was sent out to Resembool on a mission." Her eyes widened. "Furor King Bradley had sent him there in search of something to do with Hohenheim and his sons. That's all I know about it."

Rumor's head was clicking. "When did he leave?" She snapped abruptly.

Hughes was caught off guard. "I- I- uh… dunno… this morning I think…?"

"Thanks, Hughes!" Rumor turned and took a few paces down the sidewalk before turning back to her stunned friend. Running back, she hugged him and thanked him again before dashing, using alchemy, to the only train station that led out of central. Her mind made up.

It was barely ten now, she would be only hours behind him. It was an all day trip to Resembool from Central. After the first lurch of the train Rumor briefly thought that it would have been faster for her to run, then again she needed the time to think, and to not risk the chance of missing him, with his changed scent and all.

'This is it!' She looked out the window as the sun approached high noon. 'This is what I have waited seven years for! My love, here I come!'


	26. Chapter 26 Stormy Fate

Roy Mustang trekked the long, single dirt road out of Resembool. He had dreaded coming here for his own personal reasons, but after arriving, he was glad he came when he did. The two boys who had sent out return letters to their father, Hohenheim, had been planning something bigger than they could have ever imagined.

They had performed the forbidden alchemy, human transmutation. They had attempted to bring back their deceased mother. Like all before them, they had failed, and at a great cost.

The older brother, Edward, had lost his right arm, when he found his brother had been taken whole by the Gate, he offered his left leg in turn for his brother's soul and attached it to a suit of armor in the office before it was too late.

Once they had arrived at their Aunt Pinako's house, Mustang had told the Aunt of the brothers' options and opportunities as a state alchemist.

Mustang left soon after the old lady had called him a dog and was where he was currently; treading the single path to the train station of Resembool in the dark, storm-ready weather. The station was simply a raised platform with a single shack and bench for shelter and a place to wait.

He was early, so he sat on the bench. The collar of his long black coat that he often wore over his officer's uniform was upturned and he wore a black-brimmed hat low over his face to keep the chill off.

A distant light came into view and it was with a heavy heart that he stood. He had thought that if he had come to this place (even if it wasn't by choice) that perhaps the hand of fate would have stepped in and brought _her_ back to him.

Smiling grimly to himself, he thought how pathetically stupid he had been for wishing for such a bogus thing. 'Of course she wouldn't come back to me now, it's been over seven years; if she wanted me, and she had had time. She didn't come, I guess now would be as good a time as any to move on.'

It wasn't as if he hadn't tried, he had gone out with several girls who had called for his company, but things never got past a diner or a movie. They all seemed the same, dull and shallow compared to his little Rumor. And he had NEVER gone with any brunette or a girl who wore sunglasses, not any girl who held ANY resemblance to _her_ what-so-ever.

Ringing had been a continuing vice in his ears for the last few years. 'Oh my darling, Rumor! How you hex me so!' He thought dramatically to the storm clouds.

As the train got nearer, he could have sworn the ringing grew more intense, but rather than fool himself with petty hopes, he just shrugged it off as the screech of iron on iron grew more voluminous.

The train stopped in front of him and he lowered his head against the droplets of rain that fell from the brewing clouds above.

As the train approached the small platform for Resembool, thoughts of her soldier grew exponentially. Just a few minutes before the train pulled up, Rumor yanked her forest green wrap out of her bag. She saw the streams of precipitation outside the blackened window.

Peering ahead once she had secured her shawl around her shoulders and over her head (her pack placed safely around her back underneath) she saw a lone figure on the platform. She didn't think anything of it as the train screeched to a halt.

Running off the train in a rush to find him, Rumor unknowingly bumped into the very silhouette she had seen from the train just a moment ago.

"Umph!" He grunted as she hit him head on.

"Oh! Sorry!" She snapped instantly.

The whistle and force of the storm's gale muffled her voice.

She looked up from underneath her swathe into a darkened man's face. '… It couldn't be?'

Removing her no-longer needed shades (for it was so dark outside anyway) she stared up to him and concentrated, not believing what she saw.

Staring down at the girl, or better yet, women, in her drape, she removed a set of glasses, though he couldn't be sure they were tinted.

Another unbearable moment passed.

The lightning flashed overhead and lit up the girls face, more specifically, illuminated her… red eyes!

"RUMOR?" He called above the rage of the brewing squall.

"MUSTANG?" She cried back.

For a split second, they each thought of running into one another again, this time on purpose. Instead, Mustang started to back away. Now he wasn't sure if he was ready for this. He went to step around Rumor, to get to the train, but she blocked the way. The door closed, and the train left.

"Great! Now what am I supposed to do?" Roy shouted to the rear of the now racing train.

"Stay. Talk to me. We have until noon tomorrow." Rumor had waited seven years; she wasn't going to wait another day.

"I don't want to talk." He avoided her by several feet.

"I don't care. We NEED to talk."

"No, we don't. "WE" talked already. That day in Ishbal, remember?" Roy was yelling now, and not just to over-power the strengthening wind and rain. He didn't know why he was being so unreasonably, but it felt good. He hadn't been unreasonably in seven years.

"Yes! I remember! But I was angry! I was wrong! I'm sorry!" She was yelling too.

"Sorry won't cut it this time, it won't cut it!" Immaturely, he backed up some more.

"Then what will?" She yelled to him in desperation.

"I-! I don't know!" He shouted back, in that instant, he felt like a child, helpless and indecisive.

"How about if I died to prove how sorry I was! Would that make you happy? Would that solve your problems?" Rumor shouted; she was testing him, though she knew, if he wanted that of her, she would do it for him, no questions asked.

"No!" He shouted in a high pitched voice out of shock. "NO! I don't want that! That wouldn't make me happy at all!"

"Why?"

"I don't know!" He was close to tears in his seemingly babyish state.

"Is it because you love me?" This wasn't going at all how she had run this conversation in her mind. Even in the seemingly millions of possibilities, not in a single one of them were they wet, soaking, it hadn't been storming; it had always been not so much peaceful, but in the sun, perhaps even a diner or café, but not this. She dreaded the answer, yet yearned to know.

He couldn't talk; many answers ran through his mind all at once. He decided to take the rickety one, "Probably! I don't think I want to love you; I don't deserve to love you! You don't deserve such a pathetic man as me!"

"Idiot!" Rumor came at him at a speed that Mustang couldn't even see, let alone react to. She caught him square on the jaw with a right handed punch. It sent him flying off the platform. His position (before he had even touched the ground) she was at, she caught him easily, drop kicked him then let him flop onto the muddy earth.

"What the hell? What are you doing?" Mustang called from the muck. He picked himself up from the ground. His hat had flown into the gale long ago and he wiped his bleeding lip with a ruined-gloved hand. His weight supported on the other arm.

"Knocking some sense into you, you stupid lug!" Rumor paused and she let him catch his breath and get back on his feet, he stood more than five feet from her.

"Okay, I gained some sense, so tell me… what are you doing here?" Mustang stammered slightly and held his ribs where she had kicked him.

"… You first." Rumor avoided the truth around him, she was good at it. The storm continued around them.

"I was sent here on a mission by Furor King Bradley. Now, what are you doing here?" He asked but there was no humor in his flat voice.

"… I came to find you." She said after a moment, he barely heard her through the thunder, but he didn't ask her to repeat it.

"Well, you found me. So what do you want?" His voice was harsh and it made her flinch, but she answered strongly.

"I want to know where you were going to go."

"Does it really matter?" He asked in a stiff manner, he felt like he was acting like a spoiled teenager.

"Not really." She answered in the same fashion.

He bit his lip and cursed the Fates for what he had just moments ago had prayed that he would meet her as a blessing. He answered her anyway, feeling like a royal prick. "I'm going back to Central."

"Oh…." Rumor left her sentence in the air of the crazed storm. It reminded her so much of her thrill seeking episode at midnight, on the night of the new moon and in the oceans currents. Adding to her comment in an undertone, she asked, "Would you take me with you?"

Mustang was caught by surprise. He turned his head away and stepped a couple feet closer, so there was still an arms length between them, only now they wouldn't have to shout the matured level of conversation. "Do you remember the night of our second date, when I had asked you if you minded what I was? That my greatest displeasure in myself was that I was a dog of the military? Do you remember what your answer was?"

"Of course," Rumor avoided his gaze, as he avoided hers. "It was 'no'."

"Well, I hadn't been sure that you would say that. So, what do you feel is the greatest vex within yourself?" Now, he looked to her profile. He noticed how the wrap played and tagged her now long hair repeatedly in the wind as it was nearly half off of her head.

"That I'm Ishbalan…." Rumor answered, after all her training with Hohenheim himself, she was renewed at how he always baffled her with some of his questions, and she could never quite see where he was going with them until after he explained.

"So ask me, Rumor. Ask me if I mind." He didn't ask her to ask him, he commanded it, and helplessly, she obeyed.

"Do you mind?" She asked, offhandedly.

"Mind what?" He asked, mimicking the innocent/ confused tone of voice she had used on him.

"Do you mind that I was born as an Ishbalan?" She asked, without needing to mimic the somber tone he had used, for she felt it truly herself; the same anxiety of his answer, the possibilities of what would happen from there on out, depending on one of the two little words he had to chose from, and now she respected him for asking right off the bat, he didn't have eight years of past that she had, he had had less than 24 hours, truly 'nothing to lose', or did he? He had this; their year together, their seven apart, and this moment, the deciding moment of their future… together. He had as much to jeopardize as she did, if not more. She would have a year of memories with him, and seven without him, and all because he had taken the risk of not knowing any of it from right off the bat. She finally understood. She understood everything in the moment between her question, and his answer.

"No. I don't mind at all. I love that about you, because I love everything about you." Mustang moved towards her, his muddy gloves extended.

Just as he was inches from her, she slapped herself in the face, halting his progress.

"Why did you do that?" He was stunned speechless as the thunder rolled and lighting flared over head. The rain continued to pelt them.

"Sorry, just making sure I wasn't dreaming." Rumor smiled awkwardly and Roy lost it.

He tightened his arms around her thin figure in a possessive, yet still protective way.

It was the moment the both of them had endured seven hellish years for. The embrace couldn't have been ruined by anything….

Lighting struck the ground twenty feet from them and incinerated an old forlorn tree that had stood alone on the plain.

Scratch that THAT ruined it.

Finally able to release seven years of tension, Mustang threw out a length of his jacket and hurriedly wrapped Rumor inside it, close to him. Both laughed excessively as they made their way to the tiny shack of shelter of the "train station" to await the time of the next embark.

Together, Mustang and Rumor stood inside the cramped space of the shed. Roy slipped out of his rain-drenched coat and Rumor unwound herself from her swathe. They laid them across the one foot wide bench that, at the moment, took up space within the lean-to. Freed from their wettest clothes, Rumor removed her pack and took out two very compact, yet warm blankets and put her pack on the bench with the coverings.

Roy sat with his back against the side of the shack that was furthest from the open door way, 'Brilliant idea.' He thought sarcastically at the "architects" idea of a shelter; meaning one of the neighborhood carpenters.

Rumor was still standing while she cracked the blankets a few times to straiten them out. Mustang just admired her. She had also removed her sweater which had dampened as well, so he was free to observe how her high collared tank top shifted against her skin as she moved. 'Wow… I'd forgotten how easily she could take my breath away!'

"There!" She said as she finished snapping out the wrinkles. She knelt down in place from between his knees and let Mustang guide her to him from there, so she didn't fall and injure him further (mainly his ribs). She brought the blankets down with her and they immediately started warming them.

'This feels so nice….' Rumor thought. She couldn't believe it had taken so long to realize her mistake of not telling him sooner, about being Ishbalan.

"It's okay; I forgive you, if you will forgive me…." He whispered in her ear, she immediately recognized the drowsiness in his voice. It made her smile in the dark. But she still found it odd how sometimes; he seemed to read her thoughts.

"Well… thank you for forgiving me, but what do I have to forgive you for?"

"For, you know, killing your people…." His voice trailed off.

"… You didn't kill my people. They dis-owned me, as far as I'm concerned, I don't belong to anyone…." Rumor worded this statement both truly and deliberately…..

"… I see…." Mustang was hurt, he hadn't caught Rumor's intentions; he was too exhausted.

"Remember that collar you gave me and the circumstances under which I would wear it?" Rumor asked him, more awake than he and taking a different approach to her goal.

"… Yeah…." He answered, nearly absently. His forehead bumped against the back of her head, he was too tired to hold it up, but he wasn't sleeping. In the dark, she smiled wider.

"Well…," She began, and then Mustang heard a zipper being undone for a short distance before stopping. "I never took it off…."

Mustang jerked his head up at this.

"What?"

It was too dark to see anything and the lighting flashes never stayed longer than a split second, so Rumor reached behind her and felt Mustang's dripping black hair and guided his face gently to her neck, she leaned her head to the side to make room.

Allowing her to guide him, Roy felt his lips gently graze softened leather. He inhaled deeply and was taken back to that day, the day of the picnic with Hughes and Gracia… and the cedar, _their_ cedar. He knew what the collar meant; she had not stopped loving him, not for one, single minute in their time apart.

"I belong to you, and only you." She exhaled lovingly.

He breathed a sigh of relief against her neck and she shivered, but not from the cold…. It was a shiver that was closer to home, from within her own being.

Mustang's arms had been wrapped around her loosely, now, he tightened his arms gently to share her body and its ambiance, and how he had longed for this!

Feeling her tremble in pleasure, he kissed the side of her neck, first the collar, then her jaw line.

Without warning, his face slumped over her shoulder and he was deep in sleep. Rumor felt the deepening of breath in his chest against her back and his grip around her waist loosened.

Smiling truly for the first time in seven years, Rumor turned her head to kiss his cheek and rest her head against his still damp hair. She was so comfortable and warm; she was home at last….


	27. Chapter 27 Spring Morning

Mustang was the first to wake the next day. He immediately noticed that he had fallen asleep over Rumor's shoulder and that there was a faint glow of light to the east. Shifting slowly, Roy did his best to stretch his neck out without disturbing her.

Succeeding, Roy leaned his head against the side of the shack behind him and then tilted from side to side to work out the kinks. After that, he looked down to his love. Her face was soft in slumber and her lashes fell perfectly over the skin of her cheeks, now dyed a reddish-purple from lack of sleep.

Somehow, he had suspected that she wouldn't have slept much while on her own; he would have had the same sleep deprived sacks if it had not been for Hawkeye's miracle pill.

The golden sun's light poured through the cracks of the shack at once. Looking down, Mustang admired how the light brought out the blonde highlights in her brunette hair and how the golden color enhanced the flawlessness of her tanned features.

'She's so beautiful, what is she doing with me?' He mused in silence.

As time passed, so did the sun, inevitability, the beam through the cracks moved over her eye and she blinked into consciousness.

"Good morning, beautiful." He greeted.

Closing her eyes again with a smile, she returned, "Hey there, stranger…." Her voice was thick with grogginess. "How long have you been awake?"

"Oh, not too long." He assured her.

"What have you been doing?" She rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes.

"Watching you." He replied calmly, smiling gently, _that_ look in his eyes.

"Oh… no…!" Rumor complained, blushing.

"Oh, yes, you were so lovely, I couldn't help it." He continued to smile, even though she didn't look around to see him do so.

"What ever." She protested, but stood up instead to put away the no longer needed blankets.

He chuckled lightly.

Once replacing them in her pack was done, she checked Mustang's coat, her sweatshirt, wrap and their shoes for dampness.

"Only the jackets and shoes are damp now. I can't believe how quickly everything else dried in these few short hours… how long were we out for?" She mused.

Reaching for her glasses, Mustang prevented her.

Eyes cast down; she asked what he was doing.

"Stopping you."

"Why?" She countered.

"Come with me." Abandoning the extra clothing to remain in the shack along with her back pack, he took her hand and led her into the early morning light.

"What?" Still, she kept her eyes to the platform beneath them.

"Look at me." He demanded softly.

"… No." She declined.

"Look at me."

"No." She repeated.

"Why not?" He demanded, his voice rising.

"Because… I'm still not so sure… that you will accept them." She said, and he knew what the "them" were.

"Look at me and I will tell you. The only memories I have of your eyes are the ones where fire and lightning are dancing in them, to be honest, that is a little scary, but I want to see what they look like. What they look like when the sun is dancing in them instead." He said kindly and wisely.

She bit her lip and continued to look away from underneath her lashes.

Instead of waiting, Mustang cupped her head in both of his hands and guided her face to look at him.

He was taken aback. Her eyes were beautiful! The red tint looked like rare rubies in the light. They were kind, unsure, and a little bit scared, but absolutely gorgeous nonetheless.

Now they shined with tears, probably at the shocked expression on his face.

"So… what do you see…?" She asked shakily.

"I see how beautiful you are inside… and out." He said sincerely. "And your eyes are so unbelievably astounding!"

The object of his compliment widened with shock.

"I just can't figure this one thing out." He said seriously.

Rumor got nervous again and asked what that one thing was.

"I just can't figure out why you would want to hide something so exquisite from me for so long!" Now he joked and smiled widely as tears overflowed from her eyes, she was laughing a little now.

"You are such a tease!" She shook her head and gave him a light, affectionate punch on the shoulder.

They both laughed.

"Want to know what I've just realized?"

Rumor turned her unique eyes on him. They were full of puzzlement as she mumbled and nodded.

Marveling in that sight alone, he smiled wider and said, "This is the first time I've ever woken in the morning and watched you blink sleepiness and look at me curiously…."

She blushed and instinctively closed her eyes tight. However, Roy took her chin gently tilting it upwards and waited until she parted her lashes to see him.

"I love it. I love them. I love you. And I'm so happy. In this moment I feel something other than despair and loneliness… love, happiness, joy and wonderment once again… these are gifts that shall not be taken for granted. Not for a single second."

Awed by his words of truth and love, she asked him only one thing. "Will you kiss me?"

"I'm not sure…" Her eyes widened in horror and he laughed good naturedly with his teasing. "Depends on if you will punch me again!"

"Only if you don't put your lips to mine in the next sec-!"

Cutting off her demand with a passion-filled kiss.

Melting into him, Rumor pressed tight to his muscled form and let his hands pull her closer.

Everything was right in her world. Her all rested in this one.

"Hungry?" She asked after a moment, blushed and dizzy as they parted lips.

"Starved!" He answered, also flushed.

Nodding his agreement with a crooked smile he watched her return with her pack as she emerged from the shack with it and their clothing to sit on and had a small breakfast picnic in the early light of the Resembool train station.

"It's spring." Roy noticed suddenly as the sun crept higher in the sky and the birds began to sing from treetops and the flowers splashed their colors across the plains below.

"Um… yeah…" Rumor conceded. "First day of the equinox also, if I remember correctly, though I'm honestly not even sure what day it is."

"You're right, it is the equinox." Huffing his silent laugher, Roy closed his eyes and shook in the irony of the moment. His winter had melted and given way to spring once more.

"Something funny?" Rumor asked the smirking man.

"Nah, nothing important." He brought his gaze from the land to her eyes and everything in him melted, warming him from his bones, outward.

…

And so they began again. To start a new life without secrets, with open and loving hearts. A journey far beyond what these two could possibly imagine awaited them both in life and in love. Lessons of their past would forever mark them and bear witness to how horrible things could be. Fate would decide where to lead the lovers and how big of a role the Elric brothers affected the tender lives. Will the couple survive the explosive ride or fall before the tragedy of truth?


End file.
